What Role Has Agriculture Played on Social Relationships between Different Towns in Egypt?

Egypt is a critical economy to the Northern part of Africa mainly due to its ability to sustain a significant population and relatively growing economy. The country is famous for its obelisk pyramids whose ingenuity in construction remains a wonder for scientists. This indicates that simple technology was used even by the ancient Egyptians. The history of agriculture cannot also be incomplete without a study of the methods that were used in the country and Mesopotamia.

Apart from the pyramids, the country’s agricultural system is regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. The rationale for this is that although the country is predominantly a desert, the citizens exploit the available resources such as the Nile Delta to grow crops for local consumption and export (Lewis, 2011). The capacity is way high than that in some tropical countries that receive regular rains and are located in climatic conditions that can support rain-fed agriculture. Apart from ensuring a sustained food security, agriculture in Egypt has played a significant role in strengthening the relationships among the cities in the country through trade, employment, and innovation.

A Brief History of Agriculture in Egypt

From the earliest days in history, Egypt has been cited as an agricultural country with sufficient food reserves. This is confirmed by the narratives in the Bible whereby the country fed other starving areas in the midst of a precarious drought. From the earliest times, River Niles has been exploited as the major water source to irrigate the farms through the construction of dikes. The ox-drawn plow was one of the most effective technologies used in the country(Sowers & Toensing, 2012).

The farmers planted food for subsistence consumption including sorghum, wheat, fruits, beans, lentils, onions, garlic, beans, and radishes. The farmers also grew industrial raw materials including papyrus and flax. However, due to the closeness of the productive land to the river and its limit, there was a robust intervention of the government to control land use and avoidconflicts. During Mubarak’s era, much of the land was put under the military and government supervisions. However, the current administration has allowed farmers the liberty to grow crops of their choice, particularly in the rural areas.

The towns in the country looked up to the fertile areas for food supply. There have also emerged traders who ferry the food across the towns from their production areas to the markets,and this made the Nile basin a core region in the country. Also, a significant number of people from different parts of the country moved closer the agricultural areas to look for employment. In addition to the food crops, the farmers grow cotton on large-scale(Lewis, 2011). The high production has sustained the textile industry which also employs hundreds of people. The ingenuity in agricultural productionhas enabled the country to be food secure, and it has also increased the cohesion between the different towns in the country.

How Agriculture has impacted on the Social Relationships between Different Towns

Most of the towns in Egypt grew as a resultof agricultural development. The establishments adopted the traditional forms of political governance whereby they were placed in districts for efficient government. The flood areas attracted new settlers who wanted to benefit from fishing and eased water movement. As the towns became more complicated, the farming methods also changed from being entirely for subsistence needs to agribusiness. Therefore, as Sowers and Toensing (2012) observewhile discussing the relationships between the towns in Egypt, it would be difficult to disregard the role of agriculture since the two have been espoused in the country’s development process.

First, agriculture creates a platform for the mutuality between the agriculture and non-agricultural towns. Statistics from the governmentindicate that only about 8 million fedans representing only 3% of the total land are under agriculture (Mansour and Abozaid, 2016). While sand mostly covers the rest of the country, the capacity of the limited area is critical to a well-fed population and reduced expenditure on imports. This has also triggered a high level of specialization to maximize the output per unit area. The Nile Delta which is only 35, 000 square kilometers accounts for more than 99% of the crop production in the country(Mansour and Abozaid, 2016). Most of the food crops that are used as staple foods including vegetables and cereals are produced in the region. The remaining 1% of the food consists of crops that can withstand high temperature and minimal rain. These include cotton and dates (Mansour and Abozaid, 2016).

Therefore, the other towns look up to the farmers in the region for food supply it is noteworthy that the region lies almost at the center of the country between the Western Desert and the Eastern Desert. The Western Desert is about two-thirds of the country’s size while the mountainous Eastern Desert sprawls up to 220,000 square kilometers(Hegazy&Moustafa, 2013). In the two arid areas, agriculture is carried out in small scale mainly due to the harsh climatic conditions. Although the government has made substantialefforts to harvest water from floods for irrigation purposes, the amount of water is not sufficient to contribute significantly to the national food basket. In the towns, the need for food is relatively higher due to the dense population.

The inhabitants, therefore, rely on traders and foodmerchants to source for food from the various production towns within the Nile Delta. To prevent a price inflation and hoarding, the governmenthighlysubsidizes the agriculturalproduction. The move was triggered by the knowledge that leaving the producers to set the prices might hurt the economic abilities in the inhabitants of the towns that do not produce food (Hegazy&Moustafa, 2013). The regular and sustained supply of food provides a platform for association founded on mutuality.

The Sharing of Values between the Towns as a Result of Agriculture

Agriculture has also promoted the sharing of values and techniques of carrying out activities within the cities. As the food basket in the country, the food producing areas in the NileDeltahas the full attention of the policy makers who want to make the food production sustainable while at the same time protecting the rights of the farmers. It is noteworthy that one of the biggest problems facing the town is the loss of arable land to encroachment. Although the government has a policy that aims at increasing the arable land by one million fedans by 2020, the strategy is facedwith the challenge of increasing population in the urban areas. This leads to the loss about 10,000 acres every year as people look for new areas to settle.

However, the policy framework on land use has been active in ensuring that there is a maximum production of food per square unit. Since the inhabitants of the basin do not adopt policies in isolation to the other regions in the country, most of the policies that the citizens embrace are also implicated in the parts of the country. For instance, water safety and efficient use are a major policy that the government has been implementing over the years. The policy guidelines not only affect the population in the agricultural towns but also those in the two deserts.

On the same note, agricultural techniques practiced in one town gradually gain popularity in other areas where they are customized to meet the perceived local needs. For instance, modern irrigation, which is a major technology in the agricultural towns, particularly in the Nile Basin was applied by the government in its $6 billion projects in the southern rural towns near the Sudan Border.Through a national platform, the residents of the remote Southern towns got a Delta experience despite living in a desert.

The association that the citizens from different town have which has been triggered by food distribution and supply become a channel to transfer this technology to other rural towns. About 1% of the agricultural practices take place in areas within the two deserts under small scale irrigation. Through the movement of people, the small-scale farmers gave adoptedsome technology from the major town in the country. Forinstance, farmers have been able to adopt hybrid seeds, farming tools, irrigation methods among others. Although this may be termed as an economic advantage, it has a strong socialaspect in that agriculture is used a medium of passing vital information.

The Promotion of a National Food Culture in the Towns

Agriculture has also promoted the food culture between the different towns.A typical Egyptian diet consists of vegetable, cereals, fish, lamb, and occasional herbs. The rationale for a shared food culture is that the different agricultural zones produce different crops which are complementary to the people’s diet. In the Upper Egypt, for instance, the towns around High Dam, East Owainat, and New Valley are known for their high production of dates. The productiongivesthe region a comparative advantage over other areas that produce foods for local consumption since the farmers earn high incomes from the exportation of their yields. However, theinhabitants of the town cannot feed entirely on dates, and their food culture is influenced by the crops grown in the neighboring regions. For instance, the residents get most of their rice, beets, and milk from the Middle Egypt Region. The farmers in the regionexploit the favorable climate to grow diverse crops. However, just like their counterparts in the Upper Egypt, they produce insufficient fruits, and they have to source them from the Western and Middle Delta regions. The diversity in production in each region creates an Egyptian food culture that cannot be said to be overly dominant in one area.

Community Integration as a Result of Agriculture

The social relationship between the towns in the in the country through agriculture is observed in the migration and employment trends. Just like in other countries whereby industries and trade thrive in areas that produce raw materials, agriculture in the Nile Delta attracts people from different parts if the country. The government statistics indicate that on average, the agricultural sector offers more than 300,000 job openings (Mellor &Ranade, 2002). Since these are both skilled and non-skilled, people from different towns move to the industrial areas to look for greener pastures.

Also, from the earliest practices in agriculture in the country, the expansion of lands necessitated the introduction of new ideas and this attracted people from different parts of the country to move in and offer their skills. The tendency has been perpetuated by the complex industrial sector that continues to give the towns a national outlook. The need for more workers has led to the development of cosmopolitan areas with demographic characteristics that represent the customs ad beliefs of all the towns in the country.

It is noteworthy that agriculture has been the most intense factor providing a link between residential sub-urbanization and peri-urbanization. In the country, the sprawl of urban areas puts pressure on territorial expansion. Some of the arable lands are being forfeited to accommodateinhabitation of the growing population. The peri-urban areas, on the other hand, provide affordable housing for the individuals working in the different industries, and they are also preferred for informal settlers (Mellor & Ranade, 2002).

These areas compete with agriculture for space, and there is always aconflict between the individuals in the housing sector and those who wants to expand their agricultural lands. This conflict has instigatedthe agriculturalists to look for reclaimable lands and convert it into farming areas. The individuals from the peri-urban areas, therefore, get a chance to offer their skills and improve their social and economic standards(Mellor &Ranade, 2002). It is also worth pointing out that those who migrate from different town to the agricultural areas act as agents of transferring values and ideas. The complex urbanization that comes with agricultural development in Egypt leads to a multifaceted urban social integration.

Comparative Services in the Various Towns as a Result of Agriculture

In Egypt, the relationship between the towns in primarily based on the comparison between the social services that the citizens receive. In 1970, the government established a strategic plan to introduce new towns in the desert and make them sustainable. The increasing population informed the decision in the towns near agricultural areas which was a threat to the size of arable land. The government through consultationwithdifferent stakeholders in the country believed that the agricultural towns could provide enough foods to the new cities(Hegazy&Moustafa, 2013). However, to avoid seeing up towns in areas with extremely harsh conditions, the government identified areas that that had occasional floods. The long-term intention was to devise agricultural methods that could assist the inhabitants of the deserts to produce food.

However, the relationship between the towns in the two area to a large extent affected the sustainability of the new habitats. Some of the towns that had been popularized include Sixth October, El-Sadat, El-Obour, 5th May and New Domiat. The government projected that the towns could accommodate between 200,000 and 500,000 people(Hegazy&Moustafa, 2013). An evaluation of the plan in 1990 revealed that the towns had not made the expected impact in distributing the population throughout the country. Thiswas associated with the services rendered in the desert towns and the ones along the Nile Delta. For instance, the citizens complained of relatively low standard hospitals, schools, and other public amenities. Also, the inhabitants complained about inflated cost of housing.

Although the complaints were genuine, it is worth noting that the agricultural towns had set the threshold for a model city in the country. Agriculture had triggered the introduction of high-end technology and infrastructure. Also, the economic activities brought about by agriculture resulted in improved earnings and consequently an increased capacity to enjoy a modest life.

Therefore, the schools, hospitals, and public amenities in the region offer attractiveservices, and the citizens can afford them comfortably. A significant number of those who went to settle in the desert towns were aware of the conditions in the delta regions, and they found life to be comparatively different. Although the government believes that innovations in the desert will attract inhabitant into the desert towns, it is worth noting that they have to set a threshold of the services that citizens receive by basing it on the amenities in the Nile Delta agricultural region.

Relationship in the Quality of Social Life

Another major role that agriculture has played in the social relations in the town revolves around the quality of life and general environmental safety. The growth of industries in the towns along the Nile has increased the pollution levels over time. As a result of the increased empowerment on the need for a health environment, the residents in the agricultural towns have been putting pressure on the government to enforce waste management laws. Most of the citizens live in thedenselypopulated towns in the Nile area (Sowers & Toensing, 2012).

However, only a few of the informal settlements have access to sanitation and adequate clean water. The mass process in Damietta which is one of the Cities in the region sparked an impact in the other towns. Theresidentsprotested against the putting up of a fertilizer plant in the town believingthat the weak structural frameworks could not curb the water pollution by the company. The intricate social relation between the habitats led to residents from other towns including Damanhur, Tanis, Zagzig, and Bubastis to start agitating for their environmental health rights (Hegazy & Moustafa, 2013). Although this is an environmental issue, it boils down to agriculture. The rationale for this is that the development in the towns was a result of human settlements attracted by the fertile Delta that supports agriculture. Also, the industries that result in environmentalpollution have been established to support agricultural activities.

As economists observe, increase in income leads to a low population growth and an improved quality of life. The large scale agriculture in the country which involves putting new land under agriculture has led to a sluggish decrease in population growth. This has been marked by the fewer girl entering marriage while young since they pursue other goals before settling down. The residents in the agricultural towns were the first to experience a low population growth due to the improved economic and social life.

The shared values in the populations along the Nile Delta led to the impact being gradually being evident in the other towns. Between 2006 and 2008, the population growth in the country had reduced by 0.03 and it is projected to reduce further. Although the towns have not recorded the same development, it is evident that it has stemmed from the health of the agricultural areas and it continues spreading even in the towns on the desert(Sowers & Toensing, 2012). Apart from the negative population growth, another major change in the social structure is the position of women. As a patriarchal society, Egypt placed men above women. The number of women enrolling in tertiary institutions and activelyparticipating in the job market was way low compared to that of men. However, through agriculture, the is a progressive social equality in gender equality and changing roles. The distribution of towns is a robust measure of the ongoing process of gender equality, and it is an indication of the relationship that the habitats have.

Agriculture has also affected the movement patterns between the towns. This social factor is triggered by the different conditions in the agricultural in towns and has defied the rigid mobility of the Egyptians. In hisarticle, Egypt’s Desert Dreams: Development or Disaster , David Sims observes that the Egyptians are known for disregarding migrations. However, the agricultural less between the different towns is gradually altering this tradition. For instance, the worker in the towns in the Western Desert that produce dates have been grumbling over low wages and spending the whole day on the farms. Their grievancesare informedby the work practices in the Delta towns where workers earn more and work fewer hours. Consequently, a significant number of workers gave been making entries into the Nile Delta towns from the Western and Eastern Desert to work in the farms and agricultural industries. As Sims observes, the connection that the towns have are likely to change to work practices in the desert towns since farm owners may start to experience an exodus of workers through new openings in the Nile Delta.

Summarily, agriculture in Egypt has resulted in numerous changes in the social relation between the towns. Most of the agricultural towns in the country are located in the Nile Delta. The dense population in the regions which has been attracted by the fertile land has triggered the development of sophisticated methods of production and processing. This has also triggered a widely observed change in the towns. There has been a mass movement of workers from the dear towns to the agricultural regions to look for well-paying employment. Also, the towns have been instigated to live in mutuality because different regions produce unique crops. The typical Egyptian diet in the towns which is commonly composed of vegetables, lamb, fish, and poultry is a result of the mutual relationship. The towns have also been turned into cosmopolitan enters with inhabitants from different parts of the country.

Also, there has been a widely spreading effect on environment awareness as a result of pollution from agricultural activities. The peri-urban centers have been trying to achieve similar living standards with the developed cities by agitating for environment rights, which is a common trend in the better-endowed towns. Although agriculture has significantly impacted the relation between the cities, the government should consider developing the capacity of the desert towns to attract more inhabitants. The move will reduce the population in the Nile Delta, increase the area under cultivation, and trigger research in other sustainable farming methods that can be adopted by the desert community.

References

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