Hurghada's Jojoba Farm Wins the Red Sea's Green Projects Prize and Targets 3,000 Feddans and 2,000 Jobs

A jojoba plantation at Hurghada has taken first place for Red Sea Governorate in the fourth round of the National Smart Green Projects Initiative for 2026, and the authority behind it says it is aiming to grow from about 1,000 feddans to 3,000 and to create around 2,000 direct jobs.

The project, called the Upper Egypt Integrated Model for the Green Circular Economy, is run by the Upper Egypt Development Authority, which has a branch office in Red Sea Governorate. It irrigates jojoba on dry land using tertiary-treated sewage water, moving that water from watering tree plantations to a working farm, and turning unused land into productive ground.

The numbers given

• Planting began on about 1,000 feddans at Hurghada.
• The first harvest came to 70 tonnes of jojoba seed, and output has since risen to about 150 tonnes, according to the project's own data.
• The target is 3,000 feddans, which the authority says would draw investment and provide about 2,000 direct jobs, alongside indirect work in transport, packing, maintenance and marketing.
• Plans include eight greenhouses producing a million seedlings a year, with selected seedlings to be registered at the National Research Centre.

The farm is tracked through the Cropwise Operations platform, which uses satellite imagery and remote sensing to follow plant health, productivity, irrigation, soil condition, moisture readings and the crops' water needs. The project also recycles farm waste, is studying wood pellet production, grows intercrops and runs a research farm.

Who announced it

Maj. Gen. Eng. Amr Abdel Moneim Mostafa, chairman of the Upper Egypt Development Authority, said the win reflects the authority's push for projects that combine environmental protection with economic return and modern technology. He said the same project took second place in the large projects category of the initiative at the COP27 climate conference in 2022.

The award was presented with Dr Magda Hanna, deputy governor of the Red Sea, and Eng. Nada Youssef, who heads the authority's Red Sea branch, present, alongside Assiut's governor Maj. Gen. Mohamed Alwan, Assiut deputy governor Dr Mina Emad, New Valley deputy governor Dr Mohamed Kagak and Dr Dalia Tadros of the authority's central administration for middle Upper Egypt projects. The initiative was launched in 2022.

The caveat

The 3,000 feddans, the 2,000 jobs and the million seedlings a year are targets rather than current figures, and the announcement gives no timetable for reaching them. The authority says it is studying replicating the model across ten governorates within its area of work.