"Exploring Economic Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainable Agriculture: A Qualitative Analysis of Egypt’s New Delta Project"

This study presents a comprehensive economic analysis of sustainable agriculture within Egypt’s New Delta Project, a large-scale national initiative aimed at agricultural expansion and resilience in arid environments. Employing a qualitative research design, twelve in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with economic experts directly involved in the project’s planning and implementation. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis facilitated by NVivo software, resulting in the identification of four core themes. The first theme, Economic Sustainability, encompasses diversification, economic viability, resilience, and feasibility as essential pillars of long-term agricultural development. The second theme, Non-financial Determinants of Sustainability, highlights the influence of social, institutional, and environmental factors—such as food security, rural employment, and ecological restoration—on sustainable agricultural outcomes. The third theme, Financial Drivers of Sustainable Agriculture, underscores the importance of financial incentives, access to credit, cost efficiency, and public-private partnerships. The fourth theme, Challenges to Sustainability, identifies key environmental and structural constraints, including climate change, water scarcity, and soil degradation, which necessitate integrated and adaptive policy responses. The study concludes with policy recommendations to enhance economic resilience, promote climate-smart agriculture, and optimize financial frameworks. This research contributes to the academic discourse on sustainable agriculture in arid regions and offers empirical insights for enhancing the effectiveness of mega-agricultural projects in Egypt and similar contexts.
Keywords: Sustainable agriculture, economic analysis, New Delta Project, Egypt, qualitative research, thematic analysis, policy recommendations.