- MB News
- August 22, 2011
- 3 minutes read
Muslim Brotherhood Establishes Farmers’ Union
The Muslim Brotherhood is establishing a Farmers’ Syndicate targeting a million members by December 2011, a leading MB member told Ikhwanweb Monday.
Khaled El-Erian, MB member and co-founder of the syndicate, said the group has worked hard to make the farmers’ syndicate a reality, however, previous attempts were thwarted by the former regime which consistently halted any efforts to help the farmers.
following numerous meetings in the village of Hosh Esa in Beheira governorate, El-Erian stated that the goal is to attract more than 1 million farmers to join the syndicate by end of the year, and guaranteeing a decent pension after10 years of membership and a more secured future.
El-Erian hoped that with a large membership, farmers can lobby the government to issue insurance policies to cover the Egyptian agricultural sector, oversee the production of fertilizers, pesticides and chemicals and in turn limit risks faced by small farming activities.
El-Erian stated that the Union will also push for subsidised interest rates for agricultural loans from the Development and Agricultural Credit Bank.
With agriculture being Egypt’s main provider of foodstuffs and a pillar of the economy, El-Erian stated that the Union can attract businessmen to support and set up numerous projects and workshops including factories for producing farming products, which would create jobs and decrease the rate of unemployment in the country.
