EGYPT - President Paul Kagame yesterday continued his four-day official visit to Egypt, paying a visit to one of the largest private land reclamation projects in Egypt, the Magrabi Farm.

Upon arrival at the farm Kagame was given a tour of the farms factory and grounds, which also included an exhibition of the farms produce. The Magrabi Farm covers an area of over 8,700 acres of reclaimed desert in the Noubaria area, North of Cairo.

In an interview with President Kagame’s Principal Private Secretary, Francis Gatare, he highlighted that Rwanda can borrow a leaf from the good practices of such a farm in producing great agricultural output without much arable land through good irrigation and desert reclamation.

"Rwanda can definitely learn from the practices here. The Egyptians have managed to transform a desert area into a most profitable farm, this is quite commendable. We can do it in Rwanda, and we can even do it better” said Gatare.

The farm visited on Friday is said to be one of the most modern and productive in the country with a total capital of almost 100 million US dollars, the company exports 80% of its produce to the UK, the rest of Europe and the Gulf.

The Magrabi Farms are revolutionaries in the export of produce, and its facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art quality-control technology including tissue and culture labs, hardening and shaping greenhouses and the ever-important pumping, cooling and packing stations.

President Kagame who was invited by his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, is expected to address the China-Africa Forum to be held in the Egyptian resort city of Sham-el-Sheik before winding up his visit.

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