At first glance, the old two-floor building in the Arish area of North Sinai looks unremarkable, but its rooftop is actually a productive micro farm.
Instead of fertile muddy soil, the micro farm contains wooden tables topped with around half a metre of agricultural silt. These tables are connected to water pumps through huge irrigation pipes.
At first glance, the old two-floor building in the Arish area of North Sinai looks unremarkable, but its rooftop is actually a productive micro farm.
Instead of fertile muddy soil, the micro farm contains wooden tables topped with around half a metre of agricultural silt. These tables are connected to water pumps through huge irrigation pipes.
Farmer and owner of this project Mohammad Badawi said he once cultivated a small farm in the Sheikh Zuid area, but his crops were destroyed during the war against terrorist groups, prompting him to look for alternatives.
Badawi, who hails from a long line of farmers, jumped at the opportunity to cultivate rooftops, a scheme promoted by Sinai’s Agriculture Department, which offers free training for people keen to try the unusual form of agriculture.
Rooftop harvest
“The purpose of this program in North Sinai is to encourage the citizens to grow their own fruits and vegetables on their roofs by in a clean, safe and healthy way without the use of harmful chemicals,” said Mohammad Mahmoud Faisal, an engineer who helps supervise the North Sinai project.
Faisal said spreading word about this experiment among people in and around Arish could boost local productivity and incomes. Aside from the free training, there will no charge made for follow-up sessions.
Official statistics of the North Sinai Development Office, the North Sinai governorate occupies nearly 27,000 km and almost 164,000 acres agricultural lands, mostly in Arish Valley and East Arish area. These swathes of land make up just 1.81 percent of Egypt’s overall agricultural lands. Agriculture in this governorate depends on rain water and the region is renowned for cultivating peaches, figs, grapes, palms, olives and almonds.
When the government decided to destroy olive and fruit farms used by terrorists to hide from police forces, Badawi lost thousands of pounds since he lost his acre-and-a-half farm. He was financially compensated by the government but had to find new ways of providing for his family.
Destroyed livelihoods
Salem Abdul Aziz, a North Sinai farmer, implemented planted his house’s rooftop with tomatoes and leafy vegetables to generate extra income. Abdul Aziz said thanks to the training sessions he is able to practice his profession again, planting nearly ten square meters.
Abdul Aziz used to own a farm in Sheikh Zuis area which was lost during the battles against the terrorist groups a year ago, leaving him forced to explore new projects.
“I am now working with a group of farmers, whose farms were destroyed, in cattle business to generate an income and compensate my losses,” he said.
Costly
Engineer Mohammad Faisal explained that in order to profit from this project, farmers have to use pipes to grow their products as they are a more productive use of space, allowing farmers to plant even five square meters. He said that such an area could produce the same yield as an acre, as pipes can be stacked over one another.
But the project is costly. According to the governmental models, the farms can cost 15,000 Egyptian Pounds (1,700 euros) and revenues would not be generated before the second or third harvest. But to earn guaranteed gains in the medium term, he recommended growing products needed in the market, including strawberry, tomato and lettuce.
Bulldozing crops
One of the affected farmers Ahmad Faraj, planted above his house after he lost his two-acre farm during clashes. Although he, like others was compensated by the government, he said this payout will not make up for the loss of his profession and land.
Faraj said hundreds of farmers and land owners were affected by the bulldozing of crops on the borders of Arish and Sheikh Zuid. They were compensated to the tune of millions of Egyptian pounds, but they found themselves forced to begin new professions including poultry and cattle farming.
Faraj said many farm owners were not able to access their farms due to continuous battles between security forces and terrorists who were hiding in these farms and, therefore, they could not harvest their corps.
Faraj, who had lost the farm he had inherited from his family, said he bought all necessary equipment including pipes and seeds in order to grow tomato, strawberry and leafy vegetables, and plans to move onto more difficult plants later.
Open doors
Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture in North Sinai Atef Matar underlined that the project was in cooperation with the Agricultural Research Center. He said the ministry provided all facilities for citizens to implement the new projects effectively. Amongst its training programme, engineers, taught farmers how to establish fish farms and bee hives, as well as raising poultry and cattle on rooftops, maximising use of space. “Our doors are open to any citizen interested in this experiment,” he said.
Badawi said the farmers have suffered greatly from the spread of the terrorist groups in Sinai, which include the repeated terrorist operations which have killed civilians as well as hundreds of military and police officers. “We hope that our country would be safe and secure again,” he said.
