FAO and NIBULON Establish a Promising Collaboration to Improve Food Security in Egypt

6 December 2017, Cairo, Egypt – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and NIBULON signed a Memorandum.

Cairo, Egypt – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and NIBULON, a Ukrainian company with over 26 years of experience in the field of grain production, storage, transportation and export, signed the Memorandum to focus on improving the efficiency of Egyptian companies involved in grain production, storage and transportation.

Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO Assistant Director–General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, and Oleksiy Vadaturskyy, General Director of NIBULON, signed the Memorandum on the sidelines of the forum “Promoting Sustainable Investment in Egypt's Food Security”.

The forum organized by the Government of Egypt, FAO, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development convened around 200 participants from both the public and private sectors, including policy makers, project developers, international financial institutions (IFIs), and direct and institutional investors from around the world.

Sustainable Investments 

Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular to help end hunger and malnutrition by 2030, will require greater public-private sector cooperation, strategic alliances and innovation. Promoting sustainable investment in Egypt's food security and acknowledging the urgency in scaling up efforts to enhance the food security situation in Egypt is at the core of FAO’s agenda.

Capacity Building

By combining the expertise of FAO and the private sector, important efficiency savings and knowledge transfer can be achieved.

NIBULON has exported grain to more than 60 countries and exported more than 747,000 tons of wheat under the tenders of the UN’s World Food Programme since 2009. NIBULON ensures product quality due to its state-of-the art certified laboratories.

NIBULON is a member of the International Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA), the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM), the Ukrainian Grain Association, and the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation. The company also successfully works with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation and others.

Thus, NIBULON will share knowledge and experience through joint events and meetings organized with FAO on grain storage, logistics and transportation; company participation in policy dialogue through industry associations, public-private working groups and other mechanisms; and identifying investment needs and opportunities in the grain sector.

In addition, the company will participate in field trainings in Egypt and Serbia on the improvement of grain storage and logistics for local specialists and international grain sampling and analysis standards for inspection services in Egypt with the full support of the FAO office in­ country.

Towards Zero Hunger

“This agreement is another impressive step in the efforts to scale up FAO’s work towards eradicating hunger and improving the food security situation in the region,” Abdessalam Ould Ahmed stated. He highlighted that “the technical expertise NIBULON bring will certainly help to improve storage and logistics, reduce food losses, and such collaboration adds an extra element in achieving the SDGs in the region”.

“There’s room for improvement and more work is needed to improve grain storage, transportation, sampling and testing to benefit the people in Egypt and its neighbouring countries,” Ould Ahmed stressed.

In turn, Oleksiy Vadatursky pointed out the need to act in tackling malnutrition and hunger, which “should not have a place in the world we all live in. NIBULON, as a responsible Ukrainian grain producer and a reliable exporter, shares FAO’s vision of zero hunger.” 

“Today, NIBULON is ready to share its knowledge along the grain supply chain with FAO and its partners so we can advance in achieving our common goal of the zero hunger world,” he added.

Expanding Cooperation

During the visit to Egypt NIBULON’s delegation headed by its General Director Oleksiy Vadaturskyy also visited the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trading and met with the Minister Ali El Moselhi and Deputy Minister Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Ashmawy. They discussed the issue of the company participation in the investment projects aimed at development of port infrastructure, elevator capacity and navigation along the Nile to increase efficiency of internal logistics and to ensure stable food security in Egypt. In addition, at the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation they discussed the cooperation between Ukraine and Egypt in agricultural sector with the Minister Abdul Moneim El-Banna and Deputy Minister Dr. Safwat El Haddad.  

The representatives of NIBULON also met with Hennadii Latii, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Egypt, and Hryhorii Nochkovskyi, First Secretary on Economic Issues of the Embassy. Upon negotiations, the Ambassador invited the delegation of NIBULON to participate in the reception dedicated to the 26th anniversary of Armed Forces of Ukraine held at the Embassy of Ukraine in Egypt on December 6. Representatives of  the Ministry of Defense of Egypt, in particular Assistant of the Chief of General Staff, diplomats, representatives of public and media, as well as Ukrainian community in Egypt participated in the event.

The guests observed a Moment of silence to pay tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the protection of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, visited a photo exhibition dedicated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

IC UAC