In COP27 host Egypt, hunger mounts amid soaring import costs and weather extremes

Egypt, an African nation of more than 106 million people, finds itself at the heart of two of the largest and most pressing challenges the world is facing today – the food and climate crises.

It is soon to host UN-led climate negotiations, and when world leaders descend on the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh next month they’ll be discussing the planet’s future in a nation struggling with chronic water shortages and where extreme weather is already threatening agricultural productivity.

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Experts have long warned that climate change, in particular rising temperatures, “could severely damage [Egypt’s] agricultural productivity if no adaptation measures are taken”, with predicted production falls of 11% in rice, 28% in soybeans, 19% in corn, and 20% in barley by 2050.

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Saltwater intrusion due to sea level rise could also ruin 40% of the fertile but low-lying Nile Delta – a key cropping area – between 2040 and 2050, a study last year showed.

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Beyond food production, climate change will dramatically alter the social and economic landscape in many parts of Egypt, said Adel Motamad, professor of environmental geography at Assiut University.

The deteriorating condition of farmlands and the high costs of maintaining them – combined with low productivity and financial returns – have already prompted residents in Fayoum Governorate to migrate to other parts of Egypt and even to Europe, and such movements are likely to increase in the future, he said.