UNIDO visits a number of Egyptian universities to choose the host for first educational and service center of its kind in Egypt to support tomato manufacturers and growers

Cairo - Within the framework of the fruitful cooperation between the Egyptian government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to implement the partnership program with Egypt, which includes among its projects the “Inclusive and sustainable development of the Tomato Value Chain in Egypt”, which is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Funded by the Italian government represented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), The project team led by Dr. Omar Abdin -the national coordinator of the project- made a number of field visits to Egyptian universities and research centers that submitted a proposal to host the first Egyptian educational and service center which will support the processed tomato value chain, including suppliers, farmers, and manufacturers of various tomato products. These visits come as part of the process of evaluating the proposals submitted by the various parties, with the intention of identifying the host of this center within the coming weeks.

It is worth noting that the center is expected to play a leading role in supporting and developing the entire tomato value chain in Egypt without geographical restrictions for specific governorates, and will work to provide training and advisory services to all actors in the tomato cultivation and industry sector in Egypt, including farmers, processors, entrepreneurs and agricultural associations and students of the Egyptian universities.

It should also be noted that Egypt ranks fifth among the list of countries producing fresh tomatoes in the world with about 8 million tons.

The volume of Egypt's production of processed tomatoes is not commensurate with its manufacturing capabilities and the volume of its production of fresh tomatoes, hence the need to establish the center to reduce the gap between Egypt's agricultural and industrial production of tomatoes.