Download PDF

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS
EGYPT PROJEC11,
UNIVERSITY OFtCALIFORNIA, DAVIS
FOOD POLICY AND NUTRITION AMONG THE FELLAHIN
by
Sylvia Lane
Agricultural Economics
University of California, Davis
Rosa Maria Berninsone
University of California Davic
tt\'
,
GIANNINI FOUNIZATION OF
AGRCULTURJkCONOMICS
RN°
LI
NO2 9 1982
WORKING PAPER
VVV
11111
11111
FOOD POLICY AND NUTRITION AMONG THE FELLAHIN
by
Sylvia Lane
Agricultural Economics
University of California, Davis
Rosa Maria Berninsone
University of California, Davis
Economics
Working Paper Series
No. 16
Note:
The Research Reports of the Agricultural Development Systems: Egypt
Project, University of California, Davis, are preliminary materials circulated
to invite discussion and critical comment. These papers may be freely
circulated but to protect their tentative character, they are not to be quoted
without the permission of the author.
May, 1981
Agricultural Development Systems:
Egypt Project
University of California
Davis, Ca 95616
FOOD POLICY AND NUTRITION AMONG THE FELLAHIN
Sylvia Lane and Rosa Maria Berninsone*
Poor nutritional status remains a problem among a large segment of the
rural Egyptian population (The Nutrition Institute, 1978, Radwan, Ch. 4).
This has important economic implications.
Under and malnutrition reduce the
quality and the quantity of labor (labor productivity) by contributing to the
contraction of non-fatal diseases, occurrence of disabilities and deficient
mental functioning all of which are responsible for a large proportion of
absenteeism, a lower quality of work and.a slower pace of activity.
In
population groups with caloric deficiencies an increase in caloric intake. may
lead to a more than proportionate increase in output (Amin, p. 7).
Once some
minimum level of consumption is achieved, labor productivity will vary
directly with the nutritive value of food intake.
However, the minimum level
of food consumption had not been reached by an estimated 44 percent of the
rural population in 1975 (Radwan, p. 46) and the problem may persist.
Therefore, the effect of food consumption on labor productivity is still of
current interest.
Achieving satisfactory nutritional levels may play a
crucial role in the process of development especially in eliminating poverty.
The Nutritional Problem
The Nutritional Problem Among Children
Protein-calorie deficiency is an Egyptian public health problem, a large
part of whose impact is felt by poor rural children, the future rural labor
*Sylvia Lane is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics,
University of California, Davis and an Economist on the Giannini Foundation.
Rose Maria Berninsone is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of
Agricultural Economics and a doctoral candidate in Economics at the University
of California, Davis.
2
force.
Among Egyptian children six months to six years of age the most common
nutritionally-related condition found is stunted linear growth, defined as
children who are less than 90 percent of their expected height for age,
consistent with chronic or recurrent under nutrition of calories and protein
(The Nutrition Institute, 1978, pp. 90 and 91).
Extrapolations indicate some
1.1 million Egyptian children in the 17 governates surveyed in the Nutrition
Status Survey of 1978 were so affected.
(This would indicate some 1,400,000
children throughout Egypt in 1978 were stunted.) Wasting, defined as children
having less than 80 percent of their expected weight for height, and
consistent with severe, acute protein-calorie under nutrition, although
considerably less prevalent, is estimated.to have affected 29 thousand
children in the 17 governates surveyed.
This would indicate that about 35,000
children throughout Egypt in 1978 were wasted.
Of these, about half
were concurrently stunted and wasted, a condition with much more serious
health consequences, and more common in upper than in lower Egypt.
The extent
of the incidence of protein-calorie-deficiency disease throughout Egypt is
unknown but there is evidence concerning its presence among the low income
rural population (Partwardhan and Darby, p. 151).
Anemia, defined as hemoglobin concentrations of less than 10 grams per
100 ml for ages 6-23 months and 11 grams per 100 ml for ages 24-71 months, and
for the most part probably due to iron deficiency, is estimated to have
affected some 1.4 million children in the 17 governates surveyed in the
Nutrition Status Survey of 1978 (The Nutrition Institute, 1978, p. 91).
The prevalence of stunting, wasting, anemia and other conditions and
diseases attributable to nutritional deficiencies among children is
considerably greater in the rural population, particularly in upper Egypt,
than in the urban and representatively surveyed populations (The Nutrition
3
Institute, 1978, p..91).
age.
Their prevalence also varies greatly with children's
Wasting becomes increasingly more common after six months of age,
reaching a peak between 12 and 24 months and then decreasing.
Stunting does
not appreciably affect Egyptian children until after 12 months of age,
but then becomes more common until after 36 months, after which its frequency
also decreases.
of age
The prevalence of anemia is greatest between 6 and 24 months
gradually decreasing thereafter.
Each of these conditions is generally more common in children from
families of less favorable socio-economic status, as indicated by usage o
water, electricity and cooking fuel and by the father's educational level or
occupational category (The Nutrition Institute, 1978, p. 93).
In the 1978
Nutrition Status Survey it was found that a less adequate nutritional status
for the child was associated with a lower educational level for the father.
Higher.proportions of children of fathers who were illiterate or had only
attended primary school were malnurished.
Levels of education were lower
rural than in urban areas.
Another correlate of malnutrition is child feeding practices,
particularly the age of weaning from breast milk.
Secession of breast feeding
before 12 months of age is associated with both acute under nutrition and
anemia, and these conditions become generally more common with delay of
supplemental feeding beyond 12 months.
In addition, as evidenced by the
mother's recall of her child's recent dietary intake, there was a modest
correlation between amount and variety of foods consumed, and the indicaters
of child malnutrition (The Nutrition Institute, 1978, p. 93).
Abdou's study
(1965) indicated that the stewed broad beans of foul medames seemed to be the
only protein rich food in the list of supplementary foods given to a majority
4
of the surveyed Egyptian infants.
Since strong urban and rural differences
are evident in infant feeding practices as well as in the prevelance of under
nutrition, the relative strengths of the effects of too early weaning or too
late or inappropriate food supplementation versus those inherent in the rural
condition and poverty are difficult to assess.
As for older children, Carter (1969) studied diets of school children in
the village of Sindian and found there were deficiencies of calcium,
riboflavin, niacin, and probably of iron.
The Problem Among Other Segments of the Population
During the nutrition survey of 1978 the mother of each child on whom a
hemoglobin determination was performed also had a hemoglobin determination.
Anemia was widely prevalent among mothers, particularly those who were
pregnant or lactating, again with higher rates in rural populations (The
Nutrition Institute, pp. 93 and 94).
Anemia is a serious problem for the low
income Egyptian population and has affected men, women and children
(Partwardhan and Darby, p. 57-61).
Pellagra is another public health problem.
Between 1964 and 1966 there
were 10.3 cases of pellagra per 100,000 population in upper Egypt and 83.2 in
lower Egypt.
Abdou (1965) reported that about .2 percent of the Egyptian
suffered from pellagra (equivalence rate of 200 per 100,000 population).
prevalence may now be lower.
diets.
The
This disease is associated with maize based
It is due to a deficiency of the amino acid tryptophane which is not
present in maize.
The absence of other cereals such as rice or wheat or of
other food stuffs accounts for its presence.
Pellagra can also occur on
sorghum-based diets (Partwardhan and Darby, p. 40-42).
Inadequate intakes of protein, particularly animal protein, and calories
probably still remaining a problem among a large segment of the rural Egyptian
•
5
population is also evidenced from a number of other studies.
Abdou and
Mahfouz (1965) reported diets of villagers in Kafr el Hassaa and Mansouriet
Namoul in Kaliubieh province were deficient in calcium, riboflavin and
ascorbic acid.
The nutritional quality of the diets depended upon the income
level of the families.
Additional evidence concerning the extent of the nutrition problem
emanates from Radwan's study of the value of the minimum diet that would
satisfy nutritional requirements and the ability of the different sectors of
the rural population to purchase it.
He evaluated the value of "the least
cost diet" which would fulfill minimum nutritional requirements for an
Egyptian peasant household for 1958/59, 1964/65 and 1974475, the years in
which the family budget surveys were completed.
To estimate the minimum diet
he used FAO per capita food requirements and translated the 2,250 kilo
calories recommended by FAO/WHO to be the minimum energy requirement in
consumption bundles consumed by the poor.
The least cost diet was calculated
by multiplying the quantities of the various types of foods consumed by the
unit price prevailing on the market in the corresponding year of the survey.
The value of a minimum diet per capita amounted to 13 Egyptian pounds in
1958/59, 16.6 in 1964/65 and 34.8 in 1974/75.
Since the average family size
for the rural households is 5 members the value of the minimum diet per
household amounted to 65, 83 and 157 Egyptian pounds, respectively, for the
three survey years (Radwan, p. 40-50).
The data were presented for expenditure brackets and it is not possible
to estimate the number of households whose expenditure was equal to or less
than the value of the minimum diet.
However, in the 1960's more than one
quarter (27 percent) of the rural families, comprising 3 million persons,
6
were, according to Radwan, below the poverty line and, thus, the households
were probably not able to obtain an adequate level of nutrition.
By 1974/75,
44 percent, that is 5.8 million people according to his estimates, were living
below the poverty line.
increase in poverty.
Inflation was an important factor explaining this
The cost of the minimum. diet per capita more than
doubled between 1964/65 and 1974/75.
Radwan argued that one can safely
classify the majority of owner-cultivators operating small farms as poor in
accordance with the definitions of the agrarian reform authorities who
estimated that the income from 5 feddans was just equal to the "cost of
living." (Radwan, p. 48.)
The very high percentage of food in the consumption expenditures of rural
households also indicates there may be nutritional problems in this sector.
The results of the 1964/65 survey confirm the fact that the percentage of
expenditure on food fell with increases in income.
Families whose annual or
total expenditures were less than 50 Egyptian pounds spent 73 percent of the
total on food and beverages.
For those whose expenditures were between 50 and
100 Egyptian pounds the percentage of expenditure on food and beverages was
70.3 percent (Fadil, .p. 72.)
Due to the relatively high cost of foods rich in protein, the
distribution of protein among the low income population appears very uneven.
The situation is aggravated by seasonal imbalances, inadequate information
concerning nutrition, disease, parasitic entrance stations and waste (FAO, p.
5).
Dietary patterns contribute to the problem.
rural household has been described as follows:
The diet of the low income
"maize bread is the main
staple, but millet and wheat are more widely used for making bread in the
southern portion of the country" (FAO, p. 5).
Consumption of maize and millet
•
•
•
7
was apparently more widespread than that of wheat which is of higher
nutritional value.
upper Egypt.
Maize is mainly consumed in lower Egypt and millet in
Both are said to be preferred to wheat by the greater part of
the rural population because they find them cheaper and more filling (Amin,
p. 57).
"The remainder of the rural diet consists mostly of cooked beans,
lentils, rice, raw onions, turnips, peppers and cucumbers.
Eggs and a coarse,
•
sour variety of cream cheese made of water buffalo or goat milk are
occasionally consumed.
Because meat is expensive it is regarded as delicacy
by the fellahin and eaten, at most, once a week" (FAO, p. 5).
The level of
consumption of animal protein is very unsatisfactory. (This statement is
strongly supported by the results from the study done by Goueli and Abdou.
The proportion of animal protein to total protein seems to be about one-sixth.
Expenditure on fruit and livestock products is most unequally distributed in
both rural and urban areas while expenditures on cereals, starches and pulses
are the most equally distributed (Amin, p. 62).
According to an analysis of
the 1964/65 rural sector budget survey data households with incomes of less
than 50 Egyptian pounds per annum allocated 23.8 percent of their expenditures
to cereals, and starches, 14 percent to meat, fish and eggs, 6.7 percent to
milk and dairy products and 1.4 percent to fruit (Fadil, p. 73).
Those who
had between 50 and 100 Egyptian pounds in income allocated 24.5 percent of
their expenditure to cereals and starches
14.4 percent to meat, fish and
eggs, 6.6 percent to milk and dairy products and 1.7 percent to fruit.
In
comparison, those with incomes between 300 and 400 Egyptian pounds allocated
19.8 percent to cereals and starches, 14.5 percent to meat, fish and eggs, 7.4
percent to milk and dairy products and 2.1 percent to fruit.
The income
elasticity of demand for food and beverages was about .75 for law income
8
groups, .64 for medium income groups and .55 for higher income groups
in rural areas.
The elasticity for dry beans, cereals and starchy foods for
the lower income groups was relatively high (1.123) in contrast to the
elasticities of the higher income groups where the elasticities for cereals,
starchy foods and dry beans were negative.
He adds that meat, vegetables and
other superior foodstuffs, as opposed to starchy roots and coarse grains, are
not offered to the rural poor on comparative price calorie terms.
cost of 100 calories for 12 commodities appear in Table 1.
The money
These are all
commodities in the consumption baskets of the rural poor and prices used are
the ones observed in 1964/65 and 1971.
The cheapest means of obtaining
calories were obviously maize, millet, wheat flour and beans.
Joan Robinson
has explained the existence of a well-ordered scale of priorities among wants
or what may be termed a heirarchy principle, as follows "generally speaking,
wants stand in a heirarchy (though with considerable overlap at each level)
and an increment in a family's real income is not devoted to buying a little
more of everything at the same level, but to stepping down the heirarchy."
(Robinson, p. 354.)
Given the poor rural family's low income and the pattern of relative
prices for food, it is evident there are a very limited number of combinations
that will yield approximately the same level of calories.
"The consumption
pattern of the rural poor is thus doomed to be marked by the endless monotony
of a cereal-based diet as there are few items that could add flavour to the
diet which are not very expensive and beyond their reach.
An increase in per
capita real income may result in the consumption of more onions or some cheap
fruits (i.e., dates or melon), rather than a major shift from cereals to the
consumption of some meat or fish or citrus fruit" (Fadil, p. 76).
9
TABLE 1
Money Cost of 100 Calories for 12 Commodities
Commodity
Money cost of 100 calories
Worth of the Commodity
(in milliemes*) 1964
Money cost of 100 calories
Worth of the Commodity
(in milliemes*) 1971
Maize
1
1.1 .
Millet
1
1.1
Wheat Flour
n.a
1.5
Beans
1.8
2.9
Onions.
4.3
7.0
Dates
5.3
n.a
Grapes
9.3
n.a
Bananas
8.5
9.9
Buffalo Meat
36.6
60.7
Mutton
15.4
22.8
14.9
19.6
Fresh Fish
.
Eggs
IMO MD
24.7
*One piastre = 10 milliemes.
Source:
F. Shalaby and M.F. Moustafa, "Levels of Nutrition in Relation to
Prices," Central Agency for Price Planning, Memo No. 12, (Cairo,
June 1972), Table (7) pp. 23-4 in Fadil, op. cit. p. 75.
10
One can appreciate the width of the gap which exists between the actual
composition of subsistence bundles for the rural poor and the normative
subsistence diet estimated by FAO from Fadirs estimates.
He compares the
calorie-protein content of the subsistence bundles of the rural poor in the
lowest income bracket of less than 25 Egyptian pounds annual expenditure and
FAO's recommendations concerning protein-calorie requirements.
Table 2.
They appear in
The intake of the rural poor with an expenditure of less than 25
Egyptian pounds is not sufficient to meet the generally recommended
protein-calorie minimum requirement for working people (3,000 calorie intake
and 73 grams of protein).
The deficiencies are 974 calories and 13.5 grams of
protein (Fadil, p. 81).
Data from the (1974/75) Family Budget Survey analyzed by the National
Bank of Egypt (National Bank of Egypt, p. 317) indicated the general average
of family expenditure had increased 145.5 percent between 1958/59 and 1974/75
owing to a 30 percent increase in family expenditure of the less than 200 LE
per annum bracket and a 22 percent increase in the 200-800 LE expenditure
brackets.
Unfortunately, the under 200 LE expenditure bracket was not
disaggregated, making it impossible to compare these percentages with those
from other studies.
But the estimated overall trends are of interest.
The. Bank found that in rural areas, "real expenditure in 1974/75 on food
and beverages (at 1959/60 prices) declined by 6.2 percent as compared with
1958-59 and by 34.2 percent as compared with 1964/65, despite the apparent
increase in monetary expenditure amounting to 132 percent and 58 percent"
[respectively].
"Real expenditure on food and beverages declined in relative
importance from 65.2 percent to 59.3 percent and then to 54.7 percent during
the three years, respectively."
These percentages reflect the fact that the
Table 2
Calorie-Protein Content of the Subsistance Bundle of the Rural Poor, 1964-1965
Percentage of Daily
Protein Intake
(in grams)
Commodity Group
Daily Calorie Intake
Percentage of Daily
Calorie Intake
Cereals and starch
1,420
70.1
42.5
71.4
7.8
10.8
18.2
45
2.2
3.5
5.8
• 143
7.1
0.1
0.2
Milk and diary
products
20
1.0
1.1
1.8
Vegetables
17
0.8
1.1
1.8
Fruits
26
1.3
0.4
0.8
197
2,026
9.7
100.0
-59.5
-100.0
158
Pulses
Meat, fish and eggs
Fats and oils
Sugar and sugar
products
Source:
•
Computed from the Family Budget Survey Data for 1964/65--averages of the
81.
"four rounds" of the survey in Fadil,
Percentage
•
12
relative importance of the medium and high expenditure categories had
increased at the expense of the low expenditure categories (National Bank of
Egypt, p. 325).
They also reflect the effect of the state subsidy in
stabilizing prices of some commodities in the consumption bundle (National
Bank of Egypt, p. 326).
"The main changes in real expenditure on "food and
beverages" in rural areas were the fall in expenditure on "cereals and
starches," "pulses," "milk and dairy products" and "sugar and starchy
products" as against a rise in real expenditure on "meat, eggs and fish,"
"oils and fats" and "vegetables."
The Bank's comparison of the distribution of food expenditure in rural
and urban areas (also based on the data from the 1974/75 Family Budget Survey)
indicated:
a) "cereals and starches" ranked first among the categories of
food consumption in rural areas and "meat, fish and eggs" ranked first in
urban areas.
This may be explained by differences in income and food habits
prevailing in both areas.
b) "Pulses" and "oils and fats" were more important
in rural areas, reflecting the tendency of rural inhabitants to obtain high
food values from sources other than meat, fish and eggs, and c) consumption of
milk and dairy products, and fruits was higher in urban than in rural areas,
while consumption of vegetables and sugar appeared more important in rural
areas (National Bank of Egypt, p. 326).
REASONS FOR NUTRITIONAL PROBLEMS
For the most part, nutritional problems result from the unequal
distribution of income which has left large sectors of the rural population
with relatively low levels of income, the relatively high cost of food rich in
animal protein, inadequate information concerning nutrition and an unequal
distribution of food consumption within the family.
Practices of the rural
13
poor families also contribute to nutritional problems.
The poor families
generally sell the small animals', poultry, eggs and butter fat to meet day to
day expenses, pay debts and meet the traditional requirements of certain
ceremonial occasions.
Moreover, the shortage of fuel in low income homes
severely limits the amount of cooking and the types of food that can be
prepared.
"Baking of the flat maize and fenugreek loaf may take place only
once in 7-10 days and one "oven" may be shared by several families on these
days" (EO, p. 16).
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Six prime solutions to the problem of under and malnutrition have been
suggested in the literature (FAO, pp. 12-18).
First, and the one to be the
major focus of this study, is to raise the money income of the fellahin and
lower-income rural people who are at nutritional risk.
Many Egyptian
economists argue that the heart of the Egyptian food problem is poverty
(Radwan, Ch. 4).
The barrier to adequate food consumption for poor people is
lack of money to buy food rather than the availability of food.
Thus any
policies to raise the income of the poor fellahin whether they act through
increasing crop prices, improving farming practices and resources, including
improving the land and changing of cropping patterns, mechanization,
improvement of crop varieties or of livestock, making credit cheaper and/or
more readily available, lowering taxes--already nonexistent on land-holdings
of fewer than three feddans--increasing the provision of already existing
rural food subsidies which increase real income, or other means, deserve
consideration.
Although the production of food plays a role in the
alleviation of hunger, the distribution and consumption of food are the areas
where food policy decisions are most acutely felt.
Tomich has written, "an
14
Egyptian family's ability to avoid hunger depends on its capacity to grow food
or to buy enough at local prices" (p. 32).
IFPRI'S calculations show that
chronic malnutrition among the Egyptian poor cannot be attributed to limited
supplies of food but to the maldistribution of food.
does not mean that the poor will have more to eat.
Production of more food
Incongruous situations of
nutritional deficiency and bountiful production within the same family unit
within the same villages exist.
The conclusion to be drawn is that higher
yields increase the income of the fellahin only if rural institutions allow
them to retain more of the fruits of their labor (Tomich, p. 35).
The second
solution suggested is improvement in the nutritional quality of food.
Furthermore, because families carry maize and toasted fenugreek seeds to the
local mill for grinding the day before baking takes place, the local mill
might be the point at which to add supplements to the maize flour.
A third solution might be group feeding programs.
A school feeding
program already exists although it has not been deemed to be very successful
(FAO, p. 14), but it might be strengthened and expanded to include mothers and
preschool children.
A fourth solution is the adoption of a food distribution program.
Again,
the local mill would be the place where foods to improve poor rural diets
could be distributed.
A fifth solution might be the promulgation of nutrition education
programs.
These could be designed to change dietary patterns and improve the
nutritional efficiency (quantity of nutrients obtained per dollar of
expenditure) of the household.
Efforts are being made to implement several of the proposed solutions.
Incomes in many low-income, landholding households have been increased
•
15
because of increases in the fixed farm prices paid by the government.
Prices
of paddy rice, lentils, local feed varieties, fava beans, sugarcane, sesame
and onions were raised in 1980 (American Embassy, p. 26).
Efforts to improve farm practices and resources have included policies to
improve feeds, increase the supply of fertilizers, improve drainage systems
and make the cropping system intensive, all of which will result in increased
farm productivity.
The policies listed are all incorporated in the present
five-year plan (1980-1984) which places primary emphasis on agriculture due to
an official objective of achieving "food security" (American Embassy, p. 3).
To quote from the 1980 American Embassy Report on the. agricultural situation,
"efforts to expand the agricultural sector focus on increasing productivity on
the limited land base expanding the area under cultivation.
Cropping
intensity is 1.89 and the government hopes to increase the number of crops
harvested annually on old lands to 2.1 in 1985 and 2.5 in the year 2000
(American Embassy, p. 6).
The government of Egypt hopes to increase the
production of certified seeds and expand the area planted to [high yielding]
hybrid corn and early-maturing hybrid short staple cotton.
Early maturing
cotton allows enough time for harvesting an additional crop like wheat or
beans (American Embassy, p. 27).
There is an increased emphasis on increasing fertilizer production which
was estimated to have increased 57 percent over the 1980 level in 1981
(American Embassy, p. 28).
According to the 1980-84 development plan, Egypt
expects to be self-sufficient in fertilizer by 1982 and government imports of
fertilizer are anticipated to increase.
Government related entities sell
fertilizer to the farmer at subsidized prices but at these prices fertilizer
supplied does not meet demand and, therefore, fertilizer is still rationed
(American Embassy, p. 28).
16
Improvement of soil drainage is a major objective in the 1980-84 plan
which provides that an area of 1.7 million feddans be covered by surface
drainage and 1.5 million by subsurface drainage (American Embassy, p. 27).
Mechanization has been encouraged through the credit system.
Research programs for rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, barley and legumes have
been implemented.
There are progrpis to upgrade quality and productivity of
livestock through cross-breeding, the eradication of internal and external
parasites, the increasing of the quantity and improving the quality of animal
feeds and the fattening of buffalo calves to heavier weights by using milk
replacer (American Embassy, p. 26).
The expansion of poultry farms and fish
production has been planned (American Embassy, pp. 26-27).
Credit may now be more readily available through the Village Banks.
Farmers are still provided with seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, farm
machinery and feed stuffs at controlled prices on credit. (Quantities
provided accord with Department of Agriculture estimated requirements for the
various crops to be planted and the acreage (Waterbury, 1978, p.6) but the
system has seemingly been more advantageous to larger rather than smaller
farmers (Radwan, p. 82 and International Islamic Center, p. 136).
Government credit and subsidized inputs are only available if the farmer
grows the designated crop (cotton, rice) on the required portion of his land.
There is a targeted acreage for cotton and a recommended acreage for several
other crops (wheat, maize) for each area.
Relatively prosperous fallahin can undertake the production of higher
valued crops (fruits, flowers, vegetables) for more lucrative markets because
they are not as dependent on government credit and government subsidized
inputs (Fadil, p. 35).
^
17
The real income of many farm families is increased because of the food
subsidies.
Wheat flour, corn, beans, lentils, edible oil and tallow, red
meat, chicken, fish, tea, sugar, and rice are available at state-owned stores
to ration card holders (almost all households in Egypt) at government
controlled prices that are far below free market prices.
Government retail
food subsidies were estimated at LE 1,108 for 1981 (American Embassy, p. 28).
Wheat and wheat flour .are especially heavily subsidized to keep bread prices
low (American Embassy, p. 28).
The problem in some rural areas, however, is
the distance to the state store.
As to the other proposed solutions to the nutrition problem that are
listed in this paper (p. 14) group feeding program and nutrition
education programs have not received very much emphasis and little has been
done to improve the nutritional quality of food.
As for the food distribution
program, if the food subsidy program is extended and poor households have
sufficient income to purchase the components of a minimumly adequate diet, no
such program is needed.
To conclude, it should be noted that the Egyptian economists who argue
that the heart of the Egyptian food problem is poverty are widely supported
(Radwan, Goueli and Abdou
5/4/81 cfg
P17
Patwardhan and Darby, Tomich).
•
•
•
18
References
Abdel-Fadel Mahmoud.
"Development, Income Distribution and Social Change in
Rural Egypt, 1952-1970."
Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Abdou, I. A., He. E. All and A. K. Leibaktein.
"A Study of Pellagra in the
Egyptian Region," Bulletin of Nutrition Institute UAR, 1965, 1:61.
Adbou, I.A., and A. H. Mahfouz.
1965.
"A Survey of the Diet in the Egyptian
Village and Its Seasonal Variation."
Bulletin of Nutrition Institute
UAR 1:51.
American Embassy Cairo.
Egypt: Annual Agricultural Situation Report 1980.
Report EG-1002, 2YA.
Amin, Galal.
Egypt."
Jan. 31, 1981
"Food Supply and Economic Development with Special Reference to
London: Frank Cass, 1966.
Carter, J. P., L. E. Grivetti, J. T. Davis, S. Nassif, A. Mansour, W. A.
Mousa, A. Atta, V. N. Partwardhan, M. A. Moneim, I.A. Abdou, and W. J.
Darby.
1969.
Village Boys:
"Growth and Sexual Development of Adolescent Egyptian
Effects of Zinc, Iron, and Placebo Supplementation."
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 22:59.
FAO.
"Perspective Study of Agricultural Development for the A.R.E."
Food Supplies and Nutrition, ESP/ESN/PS/EGY/73/5.
FAO.. Report on First FAO/SIDA Seminar on Improvement and Production of Field
Food Crops for Plant Scientists from Africa and the Near East, held in
Cairo, Egypt 1-20 Sept. 1973.
Goueli, A. and Amin I. Abdou.
Landowners."
FAO SWEITF 104.
Rome 1973.
"The Food Consumption Patterns of Rural
Ministry of Agriculture, Arab Republic of Egypt, January
1981.
The Institute of Nutrition.
Ministry of Health, Arab Republic of Egypt.
Nutrition Status Survey, 1978.
p.
•
19
The International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research and Rural
Development Committee.
Rural Egypt".
Cornell University.
"Socio-Economic Profile of
(Reproduced by National Technical Information Service, US
Dept. of Commerce) Cairo, 15 March 1979.
•
National Bank of Egypt.
"Development of Standard of Living in Urban And Rural
Areas of Egypt according to Family Budget Data between 1958/59 and
1974/75.
Economic Bulletin. Vol. 31. #4, -1978.
Partwardhan, Vinayak N. and Darby, William J.
Arab Middle East."
Radwan, Samir.
"The State of Nutrition in the
Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville, 1972.
"Agrarian Reform and Rural Poverty, Egypt, 1952-1975."
International Labour Office, Geneva, 1977.
Robinson, Joan. The Accumulation of Capital.
Tomich, Thomas P., U.C. Davis.
London:
Macmillan, 1956.
"Population, Poverty and Politics:
Compulsion
and Response in Egypt's Food Policy."
Waterbury, John. "Aish: Egypt's Growing Food Crisis."
American Universities.
Field Staff Reports, Vol. XIX Nos. 1 and 3, New York, December 1974.
Waterbury, John. "Egyptian Agriculture Adrift."
American Universities.
Field Staff Reports, JW/1/78, New York, 1978.
.
.