by Mahmoud Fouly
CAIRO, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- In a training room in Egypt's northern Beheira Governorate, rural women listened closely as Chinese and Egyptian specialists explained poultry-raising techniques, from temperature control and ventilation to weight monitoring and disease prevention.
Held at the Family and Child Development Center in Dimisna village, the session was part of the China-Egypt "New Hope" initiative, which empowers low-income rural women by helping them establish small poultry-raising projects at home.
The initiative is implemented by Chinese agribusiness New Hope Liuhe Co., Ltd. in cooperation with Egypt's National Alliance for Civil Development Work (NACDW) and its member foundation, Sonaa El-Kheir (Good Makers) for Development.
Each participating family has received 55 chicks, along with feed, medicines and other necessary supplies. With the roughly 60-day cycle now nearing completion, veterinarians make regular household visits and stay in touch with the women via a WhatsApp group.
For Amal Ahmed, a housewife from Dimisna, the project offers rural women a chance to improve their income without leaving home.
"Dr. Suhaila, New Hope's vet, has been following up with us since the first day we received the chicks," Ahmed said. "We weigh the chicks to monitor their growth, and whenever there is something unusual, we consult her."
"We already raise poultry at home, but this cycle involves much closer attention. We follow their instructions continuously, day by day," she added.
The current program is the second phase of New Hope's poultry-farming technical training in Egypt, involving five subsidiaries and covering about 600 rural households, according to the company.
In Beheira, the project covers 100 families across four villages, including Dimisna, with 25 families from each village.
In its first phase last year, participants increased their income by an average of about 8,900 Egyptian pounds (about 175 U.S. dollars), with a poultry survival rate above 95 percent, the company said.
Mohamed Abdel-Maboud, manager of the "New Hope" project and Sonaa El-Kheir's Family and Child Development Centers project, said the initiative combines economic empowerment with practical training for rural women.
"The project has benefited everyone here. It provided rural women with an excellent economic empowerment opportunity, and they are particularly pleased with New Hope's technical support," Abdel-Maboud said.
Suhaila El-Shazly, a veterinarian with New Hope, said the women receive regular technical guidance on temperature, ventilation, humidity, and disease prevention.
She said many of the women had previously raised poultry only on a small household scale and were unfamiliar with the management practices used on larger farms.
"We explain to them how a large-scale system operates so that they can apply the same methods and raise their 55 chicks according to the same standards used on farms with 10,000 birds," she said.
Another beneficiary, Hind Saeed, said families will receive the proceeds after the birds are sold at the end of the cycle, adding that many hope to join a second or third round.
"The project makes a major contribution to providing families with a decent life," Saeed said. "I hope they continue doing this."
New Hope said the project aims not only to provide immediate economic support but also to transfer practical poultry-raising skills for more sustainable income.
Wu Jun, a senior sales manager at New Hope Alexandria Co., Ltd., one of New Hope Liuhe's subsidiaries in Egypt, said the project's core goal is to adapt China's rural revitalization experience to local conditions in Egypt and help rural households increase their incomes through better farming practices.
Wu said Beheira's location in the Nile Delta, with favorable conditions for poultry farming and a large number of family farms, makes it well-suited to the project.
He said New Hope has about 20 veterinarians in Egypt who provide technical services to farmers, including farm visits, feeding and health checks, vaccination guidance and on-site training.
"We do not merely sell feed. We provide a complete system of services, including guidance on equipment use and animal-raising techniques," Wu told Xinhua. ■