Our friends at Egyptian agribusiness SEKEM have set their sights on New Valley’s Toshka project, having inked a contract with the government to purchase some 23.5k feddans in the Toshka spillway area, according to a statement from the company seen by EnterpriseAM. SEKEM is assessing the land ahead of cultivation, which it hopes to kick off in the current 2025-26 agricultural season, a company official told EnterpriseAM.

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SEKEM plans to invest some EGP 4.7 bn in the project over the next five years — just under USD 100 mn at current exchange rates, we were told. The planned investments come to around EGP 200k per feddan.

As a proudly organic grower, it made sense for SEKEM to choose Toshka, given it’s far from sources of chemical and biological pollution and is fed by fresh Nile water before upstream pollutants, the official told us. The vast Toshka project also boasts large virgin areas, the right climate for specific crops, and is part of the state’s project to reclaim the desert, which SEKEM is keen to support.

But Toshka also comes with its challenges, with new isolated communities in the desert facing “major logistical obstacles,” the official said. Road infrastructure, accommodation, schools, healthcare, fueling stations, energy sources, and supplies are often lacking, but SEKEM thinks it can use its previous experience across the decades to establish an agricultural community for the project and surrounding areas.

One way the project will address challenges stemming from its remoteness is by being an agri-industrial project, which not only grows, but also then processes produce into the final product for export or the local market, we were told. Doing this not only helps cut down on transport costs and losses, it also helps to support the foundations of the planned community.

The company is also working towards expanding in the region, with the final legal procedures underway to launch a company in Saudi Arabia and looking into which farms it will partner with as organic suppliers. An Algerian project is also in the cards, with SEKEM having already signed an agreement with an Algerian partner and conducting a market study. Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria are also being studied for potential expansions.

DATA POINT- More than 34k farmers in Egypt now have adopted the SEKEM-supported Economy of Love standard, up from only 400 in 2022, the Egyptian Biodynamic Association said in a statement (pdf). By 2028, SEKEM wants to increase the number of farmers it has converted to sustainable agriculture practices to 250k.

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