Two Papers on Consumption and Nutrition in Rural Egypt

摘要

The first paper presents an overview of food consumption in rural Egypt and reviews various proposals to improve the situation. Despite vastly increased imports of wheat and maize, malnutrition persists and is most critical in rural areas. Apparently, the problem is more one of maldistribution than of a shortage in aggregate supply. An integrated plan is needed to meet this food crisis. Other measures to alleviate the situation include increasing maize production, devoting newly developed land at Lake Nasser to fodder, replacing cotton acreage with corn and rice, introducing byproducts into animal feed, increasing credit and input subsidies to farmers, redistributing income toward the poor, and providing nutritional supplements in various food mixtures including flour. The second paper reviews food consumption patterns in various rural regions of Egypt and finds them highly heterogeneous, with the variations in diet closely associated with variations in production patterns.