Agriculture Minister Essam Fayyed left for Tunis on Wednesday to take part in the conference of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The Near East and North Africa (NEN) regional presentation of the Rural Development Report (RDR) will be launched during the event 

Before leaving,Fayyed lauded the distinguished relations binding Egypt and IFAD, saying the fund is one of Egypt's most important development partners.

He unveiled a new cooperation project between Egypt and the fund that aims at achieving integrated rural development in Matrouh and Siwa Oasis to serve small farmers and Bedouins.

The project also aims at developing valleys, animal wealth and olive cultivation, he said.

He added that the IFAD contributes 65 million dollars to this project.

Fayyed will review during the IFAD conference Egypt's agricultural development strategy till 2030, which is mainly based on the best exploitation of available natural resources to hit a four-percent growth rate in the agricultural domain.

Source: MENA