Egyptian company experiments with soybean, wheat substitutes

An Egyptian company has embarked on a project to introduce two new crops with export potential. Dandara Development & Investment Co. (DDI) in collaboration with foreign partners, intends to plant lupin and quinoa on an irrigation development by the banks of the Nile River in the Upper East region of the country.



Lupin, more commonly known in Egypt as termes, has high protein content and is commonly consumed as a mezze (appetizer) or drink. Still, Dandara CEO Hashem El-Dandarawy says local production of lupin has been “highly neglected” due to its poor market price and low per-feddan (a non-metric a unit of area, varying in value from 2,295 to 3,443 square meters) output. As a result, lupin has instead been imported.



The company began the process of investigating lupin's potential in cooperation with Danish company Eghojgaard three years ago, under the Danish Embassy’s business to business program. There is large scale research into lupin in Danish universities. Dandara and Eghojgaard tested different strands of lupin along with cross-breeds of Egyptian/European strands until the best producing combination was found. El-Dandarawy explains that the new seeds will produce up to 4.5 metric tons per feddan, as opposed to the original seed, which produced a maximum of 1.5–2.3 Egyptian metric tons per feddan. Lupin is being considered as an alternative to importing soya beans, and would be especially viable for animal feed. Another advantage to growing lupin is that it is a nitrogen fixer, improving soil fertility by converting nitrogen into ammonia. Ten feddans in the desert and 10 feddans on soil are allocated for seed production while 50 feddans are currently being harvested.



On one of Dandara’s visits to Chile in regards to lupin, the company discovered quinoa, a wheat substitute, Dandara’s newer, focal project.



The company’s plan is to begin with Upper Egypt, before eventually moving in to the Sinai and North Coast regions. The company is in its first year of producing the seeds and will start supplying them to interested companies in 2008. They are expecting to sow approximately 5,000 feddans within the next few years.



El-Dandarawy admits he was not sure quinoa could be grown successfully at first. The project started with an assessment of 78 different seed varieties of the plant in collaboration with a Chilean research company. Eventually four of the most successful varieties were selected for Egyptian soil based on “output, health, resistance to changing conditions, and early output.” The current crops are ready for harvest just 3 months after planting/sowing.



The emphasis is that the plants be grown organically, says El-Dandarawy. This is especially a concern for exportation, as the European market demand depends on the quinoa being organic. While Peru and Bolivia are the largest exporters of quinoa, El-Dandarawy explains that South America “cannot cover the growing organic demand.” Dandara will repurchase the harvest and export it as a packaged product.



Though quinoa is being produced as a cash crop initially, Dandara plans to begin an awareness campaign to encourage demand and “the acceptance of Egyptians” for quinoa’s use in local products like bread, in order to ease reliance on imported wheat. Currently interested in importing it from Egypt are France and Italy, as well as Denmark.



El-Dandarawy suggested that he was not worried about the cash crops replacing local subsistence farming. First, he says the allotted land is on marginally fertile land, leaving the high-fertility land for other crops. Second, the focus will be on sowing between olive trees.



Quinoa is grown primarily for its seeds, but its leaves can also be eaten as a vegetable. Originally a South American grain, its popularity is spreading to North American and European markets for its high nutritional value, at 12–18 percent protein content. Labeled by the UN a “supercrop,” quinoa also contains fiber, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron, unlike traditional wheat or rice. Additionally, it is particularly resistant to disease, having a “saponin,” or coating, with a bitter taste unfavorable to birds and pests.



A further potential stage in quinoa production is developing industrial agriculture through the process of mechanically removing the saponins. Concurrently, Dandara is working with Canadian partners on a large-scale LE 500 million land reclamation project which will irrigate desert land

for organically grown lupin, quinoa, and other crops, also in Qena province.



Daily Star Egypt