National Veal Project Receives EGP 10 Billion Investment

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation has announced that financing for the National Veal Project has reached EGP 10.053 billion, covering both locally raised and imported calves. The project has benefited 45,100 small farmers, young graduates and women enrolled under the Haya Karima programme, and supports 522,500 head of livestock. The ministry described the project as a major national initiative aimed at increasing domestic red-meat output to 600,000 tonnes by the end of 2025 (up from 555,000 tonnes in 2024) and raising fresh-milk production to 7 million tonnes (from 6.5 million last year). The scheme is designed to raise small-farmers’ incomes by providing soft loans at low, declining interest rates, enabling participants to expand red-meat or dairy operations. The project includes continuous field follow-up, veterinary supervision and technical advisory support, while the beneficiary remains responsible for animal procurement. Youth and small breeders can apply through local agricultural administrations or branches of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt or National Bank of Egypt. A joint inspection of the livestock shed follows, and once animals are delivered, they are insured via the Livestock Insurance Fund at a reduced rate and receive follow-up from agricultural and veterinary directorates.