Sekem Group Egypt

Organic Agriculture as the Solution for the Global Challenge Climate Change
Interview with Helmy Abouleish / CEO SEKEM Group

Question: Helmy Abouleish, today on the World Climate Day and shortly before the UN Summit on Climate in Kopenhagen, there are many debates about climate change. What would be your greatest wish concerning this issue?

HA: my greatest wish is actually a moral demand: I am asking for action now! Action from all countries to commit to clear goals.

As an Egyptian organic farmer and like many other farmers from Egypt I am very concerned about the future of our planet and about the future of agriculture in particular. Scarce water resources, rising prices for inputs like fertilizers and seeds and a growing number of weather extremes threaten the basis of agricultural production and therefore the main source of income for the rising population of Egypt and Africa.

Egypt in particular is going to be affected by climate change nearly as much as Bangladesh. Only 5% of the country’s area is arable. The rest is dry desert. A rise of sea levels would mean a loss of millions of homes and millions of acres of arable land. The social and economical cost would be a disaster.

Question: do you see concrete and realistic steps, which could be taken to prevent this?

HA: I am convinced that sustainable agriculture and forest management must be part of the solution. It is known that agriculture has the potential to contribute up to 30% of the needed CO2 abatement. Therefore I call on all decision makers to include carbon sequestration in soils, forestry, and sustainable land management use into a COP 15 treaty. This would provide incentives, funding and technologies for farmers all over the world and especially in Africa to abate CO2 and therefore also support food security. I am therefore happy to be part of the Egyptian delegation at the Copenhagen conference and I will try to get the participants to listen to our arguments.

As I said, through sustainable agriculture our planet can only profit. 1.5 bio hectares of sustainable farmed land can store up to 3 tons of carbon/hectare which is 7.5 tons of CO2.

Question: Are there any further reasons to stress the particular importance of organic agriculture to fight climate change?

Yes, definitely. Please have in mind that the contribution in the field of forestry and agriculture will most probably be the only way for most African people to contribute to stop climate change at all. Furthermore, including agriculture would provide an additional income for millions of farmers in Egypt and elsewhere in Africa and other continents to escape from poverty and this by doing the right thing.

Question: can you give us an idea about the steps, you personally plan to take?

HA: I assure you that I am personally – like many others – ready to do all I can to measure, report and verify our environmental performance of the SEKEM Group, a large organic enterprise in Egypt. At the same time I urge all enterprises in the world to do so. As businessmen we can and must contribute to key performance indicators, beyond mere financial indicators. This is best measured in our sustainability reports. We all must understand the opportunities and importance of sustainable development not only for our companies, our countries or our planet but also as an engine for future growth, investment and employment!