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The Egyptian Constitution of 2014 explicitly states that competition is one of the main pillars of the Egyptian Economy. In this respect, Article 27 provides that: "the economic system shall adhere to transparency and good governance, enhance the pillars of competitiveness, encourage investment, ensure balanced geographical, sectorial, and environmental growth, prohibit monopolistic practices, and maintain financial and trade balances and a fair tax system."

Table 3.24 Overview of IPR protection, 2017
Subject Coverage Duration Selected exclusions and limitations
Patents and utility models Any invention that is novel and susceptible of industrial application 20 years from the application filing date in Egypt (7 years for utility models) No patent can be granted: (1) to innovations affecting national security, contradicting public morals and order, causing severe damage to the environment, or harming the life of humans, animals or plants; (...) (4) to plants and animals however rare or unique, including biological processes for the production of animals and plants, with the exception of micro-organisms, non-biological processes and micro-biological processes; (...)

Patent protection is granted for a period of 20 years from the date of filing. To be considered for patent protection the invention must be novel, must involve an innovative step, and must be susceptible of industrial application. No patent can be delivered to innovations affecting national security, contradicting public morals and order, causing severe damage to the environment, or harming the life of humans, animals or plants, among others (Table 3.24). (...)

(...) production of most crops (and the corresponding areas used) has generally increased during the period under review, with the exception of rice. Policies were implemented in 2015 to decrease the area under rice cultivation, due to the fact that it is a crop that uses large amounts of water. The policy instruments used include a ban that has been placed on the cultivation of rice in areas other than those specified by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation each year, imposing a penalty of LE 3,000 per feddan for violations. Other measures included: accelerating the payment of penalties to prevent the recurrence of violations; requiring the payment of the equivalent cost of the water wasted by cultivating in other areas; and preventing rice exportation. In addition, the Egyptian Government has defined guaranteed prices for maize, a competitor product for rice, from 2011 to 2017 so as to encourage farmers to decrease the cultivation of rice and increase the production of maize. The fast growth of sugar beet production has been a result of policies that aim to replace the growing of sugar cane with that of another crop that requires less water.

The main agricultural policy orientation has been successively defined by the 1990 Agricultural Strategy Towards 2017 and the 2009 Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy Towards 2030 (SADS 2030). Among the challenges identified by these strategies are the following: improving the efficiency of water resources used for irrigation; (...) and preparing the agricultural sector to adapt to climate change.

The objectives of the Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy Towards 2030 (SADS 2030) are the following: (...)
• Achieving sustainable use of natural agricultural resources; (...)

Regarding, in particular, the improvement of the standard of living of the rural population, the SADS 2030 plans to use the following policy instruments: (...)
• Maximizing farmers' use of agricultural residues, both from plants and animals, and turning them into useful materials with added economic value (fertilizers, feed and energy), also contributing to improving the cleanliness of the rural environment; (...)

The General Authority for Improving Land Support to Farmers and Young Graduates, a body affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR), plays an important operational role in the support of farmers by providing them with a number of services: soil and water analysis, primary surfacing by operational equipment, land laser surfacing, deep tillage under soil, establishing and clearing drains and small irrigation channels, contributing to environment protection through bridging swamps, and helping farmers face natural disasters such as floods. (...)

Arable land is a scarce resource in Egypt as most of the territory is covered by desert and agriculture is competing with urbanization for the use of land in areas such as the Nile Valley and the Delta. In addition, land suffers from excessive fragmentation, which slows down the adoption of modern water and crop management techniques. (...)

Two types of agricultural land management policies are pursued in Egypt: "horizontal " and "vertical" expansion. Horizontal expansion is the reclamation of new land in the desert and its irrigation. The latter is done with groundwater in addition to the Nile water provided by the Field Irrigation Development Programme (see below), and by reducing the area assigned. The Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy Towards 2030 aims at reclaiming 1.3 million hectares (3.1 million acres) by 2030. Under this programme, a part of the reclaimed lands will be exploited by foreign investors in the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreements, while other lots will be attributed to investment companies, small farmers and young investors/farmers, with the aim of helping tenures acquire an economically viable size and to fully benefit from modern technologies.