LEGISLATION WATCH- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has signed into law amendments to the Agriculture Act that give the government more power to regulate unsustainable agriculture practices, Youm7 reports. The law grants the Agriculture Ministry, in coordination with the Irrigation Ministry, greater powers to regulate which crops can be grown and where, all with an eye towards water conservation, soil preservation, economic viability and ending unsustainable economic practices.

In other news from the agriculture industry: Egypt is cultivating cotton on some 300k feddans of land according to remarks attributed to Agriculture Minister Abdel Moneim El Banna, per Youm7. That beats the 250k feddan target the Agriculture Ministry had set back in February and is more than double the 131k feddans that were planted with the iconic crop last growing season. El Banna credited the progress with the introduction four years ago of four new strains of cotton that will first be harvested and brought to market in 2019.