President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for a national programme to replace farmers’ livestock with breeds that produce more meat and milk, aiming to improve rural incomes and agricultural output. Speaking during Egypt’s 2025 wheat harvest events, he also suggested replacing monthly cash support for some households under the Takaful and Karama programme with a productive animal.
The proposal prompted strong debate. Livestock specialists and veterinarians warn that imported breeds need specialised facilities, continuous veterinary care and more feed than many small farmers can afford. Without these, animals may die. Experts also caution against losing local breeds, whose genetic heritage reflects generations of adaptation to Egypt’s climate, diseases and less-than-ideal production conditions.
In January 2019, the Agriculture Ministry had already announced imports of high-yield pregnant heifers from the European Union for household breeding. Under a livestock-development initiative supported by central-bank financing, smallholders could borrow to buy between one and three European cows, repaying over four years.
Farmers joined in the hope of increasing meat and milk production. But an investigation into imported livestock documented repeated deaths and disease on some farms, linked to environmental conditions and the difficulty of providing appropriate care. The losses imposed heavy financial burdens on breeders.
CAPMAS livestock statistics cited in the report put Egypt’s cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and camels at 7.6 million head in 2023, compared with 18.6 million in 2014—a decline of approximately 59.1%. The statistical series records a sharp fall from 16.3 million in 2018 to 7.4 million in 2019, and about 6.5 million in 2020. These aggregate changes alone do not establish that the imported-cattle initiative caused the decline.
The figures also show annual per-capita milk availability falling from 61.9 kilograms in 2014 to 51.8 kilograms in 2023, a drop of about 16.3%. Red-meat availability fell from 10.8 kilograms in 2014—and a peak of 13.6 kilograms in 2015—to 7.9 kilograms in 2023: roughly 27% below 2014 and 42% below 2015.
Local breeds are a genetic resource
Cattle are generally selected for dairy production, beef production or both. Major dairy breeds include Holstein, known for high milk yields; red-and-white Holstein lines; Jersey, a relatively small breed from the Channel Island of Jersey whose milk is rich in fat; Brown Swiss, associated with the Swiss Alps; Guernsey, whose milk contains beta-carotene; and Ayrshire, originating in southwestern Scotland.
Prominent beef breeds include black Aberdeen Angus and Red Angus, French Charolais and Limousin, English Hereford, and Brahman. The latter was developed in the United States from Indian cattle and is noted for adaptation to hot, humid conditions. Other breeds used for beef include Devon, Galloway, Highland, Maine-Anjou, Salers, Tarentaise, Gelbvieh, Chianina, Marchigiana, Romagnola, Bonsmara and Drakensberger. Their suitability depends on the production system and local conditions.
Dual-purpose breeding includes Simmental, Montbéliarde, Normande, Fleckvieh and some Shorthorn lines. Murray Grey, Beefmaster, Brangus, Charbray, Santa Gertrudis, Droughtmaster and Bonsmara are primarily beef breeds; they should not all be classified as dairy-and-beef breeds. Milk yield, growth, feed requirements and heat tolerance vary between breeds and breeding lines.
Descriptions of Egyptian cattle distinguish Damietta cattle, relatively small animals associated with higher milk output; Menoufi or Baladi cattle, traditionally used for work and generally larger than Damietta animals; Saidi cattle in Upper Egypt; and desert types. An agricultural account cited in the original report estimates annual milk output for Damietta cattle at around 4,000 pounds, or approximately 1,814 kilograms, with about 5% fat. Such breed descriptions are not guarantees of performance under every farm’s conditions. Imported breeds, including Hereford, have also been raised in Egypt, notably in the New Valley.
Officials have repeatedly argued that local cattle have lower yields. An Agriculture Ministry account published in June 2022 contrasted daily milk production of around five kilograms for local cows with as much as 50 kilograms for high-yield foreign animals. Actual output varies substantially with genetics, lactation stage, feeding and management; these figures are not directly interchangeable averages for all Egyptian and imported cattle.
Animal-nutrition consultant Mohamed El-Sherif, who obtained his master’s and doctorate in animal nutrition from the University of Minnesota, warns against eliminating local breeds simply because their output is lower. He describes them as a genetic reservoir shaped by long adaptation to Egypt’s environment, diseases and climate.
Preserving local breeds provides a foundation for selective breeding and carefully managed crossbreeding. Improving productivity requires organised scientific programmes, research facilities and sustained funding—not simply replacing one cow with another.
In a post on X, El-Sherif argues that imported high-yield cattle need modern housing that recreates appropriate conditions: insulation, ventilation, cooling, hygiene, mechanical milking and artificial insemination supported by a continuing supply of semen. Such systems suit major producers much better than farmers keeping individual animals.
He rejects the claim that imported animals can produce more meat or milk at the same feeding cost. Greater genetic production potential brings greater nutritional requirements, care costs and sensitivity to unsuitable conditions. There is no free increase in productivity, he argues.
Different climates, diseases and feeding systems
Sherine Ali Zaki, head of the food-safety committee at the Veterinarians’ Syndicate and chair of the Nile Social Club for Veterinarians, says Egyptian breeds have resistance to some diseases endemic in Africa. Moving animals from different climatic and disease environments changes the risks they face.
She tells Zawia3 that high meat and milk output depends on substantial amounts of carefully balanced feed. Where suitable pasture is unavailable, farmers must compensate with purchased feed. Local cattle, by contrast, are commonly kept in village sheds and fed the resources available to their owners.
If farmers are to receive animals producing large quantities of meat and milk, Zaki says, they must also receive affordable feed. Without that support, feeding imported cattle could financially ruin households already struggling with feed prices and the exchange rate.
She also points to consumers’ preferences: meat from imported breeds can taste different from the local beef Egyptians are accustomed to, even if animals receive similar rations and are slaughtered in Egypt. Lower local output is therefore not the only consideration.
Large Egyptian dairy businesses and foreign companies operating in the country do successfully use imported cattle. Zaki attributes that success to high spending on feed, veterinary care and vaccination, alongside biosecure farm design that limits the spread of seasonal disease.
Their specially formulated rations and production systems cannot be compared with the resources of a smallholder who has no resident veterinarian and limited technical knowledge. Some farmers first turn to traditional remedies and may miss vaccinations. Imported cattle also require suitable housing rather than an ordinary village cattle shed.
Dina Farms, part of Qalaa Holdings, illustrates the difference in scale. A March 2023 report described a herd of 13,262 animals, including approximately 7,291 dairy cows, and annual milk production of around 80,000 tonnes. The company used American Holstein cattle and had announced a target of 140,000 tonnes in 2025. That was a target, not confirmation that it had been achieved.
Juhayna’s farm account describes using Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle and dual-purpose Simmental animals. Its cooling system combines large fans with water spraying to help sustain output through hot weather. It also has laboratory facilities to assess feed, milk quality and animal health.
Lamar Egypt similarly describes a Nubariya operation with more than 10,000 cattle, including Holsteins, purpose-built housing, cultivated feed crops and regular veterinary monitoring. These are integrated commercial systems, rather than simply imported animals placed in existing village sheds.
Crossbreeding instead of wholesale replacement
An Agriculture Ministry programme described in November 2024 included four principal artificial-insemination centres in Amreya, Sakha, Abbasiya and Beni Suef, alongside more than 630 village insemination points. The centres supply semen for improving local cattle through selected breeding and crossing with higher-yield animals.
Ahmed Shehab El-Din, director of an artificial-insemination and embryo-transfer centre, tells Zawia3 that a local cow may produce around eight kilograms of milk daily, while growing animals can gain approximately 800 grams to one kilogram a day. He stresses that imported animals need acclimatisation and cooling.
Without suitable conditions, he estimates that mortality can reach 10–20% in affected groups. This is his assessment of the risk, rather than a measured national mortality rate. An alternative is to obtain animals from established Egyptian farms where imported breeds have already adapted, including Juhayna, Dina Farms, Milkys and Copenhagen. But those operations do not have enough animals to replace a local cattle population he estimates at roughly three million.
The first question, he says, should be what the farmer wants to produce: milk, meat or both. For dairy output, he recommends suitable Holstein genetics. He describes crossbreeding local cattle with Brown Swiss for growth, and with Simmental or Montbéliarde for dual-purpose production.
In the examples he gives, Brown Swiss crosses can gain around 1.5 kilograms a day, while dual-purpose crosses can produce around 35 kilograms of milk and gain approximately 1.7 kilograms daily. For beef production, he points to Aberdeen Angus, Charolais and Limousin genetics, with growth reaching around two kilograms a day under appropriate conditions. These are breeding and management examples, not guaranteed results for every animal.
Shehab El-Din says artificial insemination can improve milk output by around 50% while retaining valuable adaptation from local mothers. He notes that crossbred cattle are already common. Coat colour alone, however, is not sufficient evidence to establish an animal’s ancestry or genetic purity.
Sameh Soliman, director of the Amreya artificial-insemination centre, favours gradual crossbreeding: animals can acquire productive traits associated with European breeds while retaining adaptation to Egyptian conditions. He says developing the desired results can take three generations over approximately six years.
Soliman explains that small farmers generally feed local animals clover, straw, bran and maize. The same feeding regime may be inadequate for a high-yield imported cow, leading to weight loss and illness. Appropriate milking systems, veterinary care and training are also necessary.
Feed must come first
Genetics professor Mohamed Fathy Salem, a former adviser to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, says village livestock keeping differs fundamentally from organised commercial farming with intensive veterinary care and carefully managed nutrition.
European dairy cattle are sensitive to heat and require more feed because they produce much more milk. He suggests learning from Brazil’s use of artificial insemination in rural areas and matching cattle to dairy, beef or dual-purpose production.
Salem argues that Egypt does not have enough affordable feed to support a large expansion of imported cattle. He calls for domestically developed technologies to produce concentrated, protein-rich feed rather than depending on imports.
He puts expenditure on imported yellow maize and soybeans at about $6.8 billion, though the interview does not specify a reference year. He also estimates that improved technology could increase forage yields from roughly 50–60 tonnes per feddan to 200 tonnes. Those figures require a defined crop, production period and moisture basis before they can be treated as directly comparable; they are his estimates, not a guaranteed yield for all fodder.
Over preceding years, the Agriculture Ministry promoted support for smallholders to increase domestic meat production and reduce imports. Its programmes included a livestock database, the national calf-rearing project, breed improvement, veterinary care and milk-collection centres.
Ministry figures reported in January 2023 put beneficiaries of the calf-rearing project at around 42,000, covering 475,000 animals. Financing exceeded EGP7.3 billion at a subsidised interest rate of 5%. These are dated programme figures, rather than a new total for May 2025.
A long-term plan
Livestock and poultry consultant Ahmed Fathy Naim calls for a national approach that accounts for population growth and different environments. Desert areas and oases could support camel production, while heat-tolerant breeds, including those developed in Brazil, could be better suited to Upper Egypt.
He says crossbreeding has been practised in Egypt since around 1940, but policy has too often pursued output without sufficient attention to disease resistance, heat or matching animals to the right location. In his assessment, the absence of a long-term strategy remains a central weakness. Establishing stable breeding traits can take at least 20 years, he says; rapid replacement cannot substitute for that work.
Naim estimates that feed accounts for about 80% of livestock-production costs. He argues that genetic improvement will achieve little without addressing feed prices, competition in the import market and the quality of veterinary services.
He calls for stronger supervision at ports and action against market concentration among maize and soybean importers, alongside improvements to fattening systems and vaccination. He criticises the centralised distribution of vaccines from Cairo, arguing that unsafe transport can undermine their effectiveness, and proposes regional facilities for vaccines and sera.
Naim also recommends expanding heat-tolerant sheep production, including Barki sheep in suitable oasis areas, and using seasonal floodwater to support pasture in Sinai and Upper Egypt. Such planning should not be left entirely to isolated investors or individual village breeders.
The experts interviewed agree that local breeds’ resilience has value even where their output is lower. Planned crossbreeding can combine some of that adaptation with improved production, rather than treating imported cattle as a universal solution.
High-yield foreign animals can succeed when the right infrastructure, feed, finance and technical support are available—as large commercial farms demonstrate. Without those conditions, small farmers risk losing both the animals and the money invested in them, while Egypt risks eroding a valuable local genetic resource.
