Prime Minister Sherif Ismail ordered Sunday to form a committee under the ministers of agriculture and planning to determine a profitable price for receiving maize from farmers.

The government aims to increase the cultivated area of maize to rationalize imports, which amounted to $ 1.6 billion in the last year.

The ministry seeks to increase cultivated land of maize to 2 million feddans by 2018, Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed said.

The premier met Sunday with the ministers of agriculture, local development, water resources and irrigation, to review detailed data for projects and programs of the three ministries, in preparation for drafting the government's program to be presented to the next parliament.