Local stories of climate change

After the students from Egypt and Denmark had met in Assuit, students from Assuit University traveled to Denmark to learn more about Danish agriculture for the second half of the program “Sustainability in Agriculture”

By Agnete Flyger

Familiar faces were smiling as students were reuniting only two weeks after having met for the first time. This time, however, the agriculture students of Assuit University had changed their familiar scenery of the Nile and sunny desert to the Northern Sea and its temperamental weather where the students of Gladsaxe High School were welcoming them. As spring was unfolding right in front of the students’ eyes during their joint field trip, the green forests stood in stark contrast to the dry desert that the group experienced at the beginning of April.

Balancing nature’s fragility

Standing in the hilly area of Dollerup Bakker (Dollerup Hills), the students gathered at a high point from where they could see a lake which is exactly where the most recent Ice Age halted to a stop. In the opposite direction of the lake surrounded by hills, the students could see stretches of flat lands, which is the moor.

“This is a place where there used to be sand. 200 years ago, we were eager to increase the agricultural production so we kind of over-exploited the land which caused drifting sand as we also have seen in Egypt,” Magnus Limborg, who is teaching geoscience at Gladsaxe High School, explained.

“The plantation that we are standing in now was planted in order to get hold of the sand and is an example of how to protect nature from over-exploitation. So that is a very important part of this program, both to see how agriculture works in Denmark and in Egypt and how things can go wrong, how fragile the system actually is if we don’t take care of it,” he explains.

Back in 2006, Professor Niels Schrøder from Roskilde University along with Magnus Limborg, and Professor Mohsen Gameh from Assuit University began working together on a project in Kharga Oasis, researching climate change in Egypt in the past. Their collaboration inspired them to develop the current “Sustainability in Agriculture” project with DEDI, offering students from Denmark and Egypt an opportunity to learn from each other, both concerning challenges of climate change in Egypt and Denmark as well as getting to know each other more closely.

Studying agriculture is a central aspect of the project in order to understand the complex earth-atmosphere systems that all farmers, and in the end all of us, are so dependent on:

“It is important for the students to learn more about the different practices of farming to gain a wider sense of understanding the global challenges. For instance, what we have seen of agriculture in Egypt, farmers use the irrigation systems to water their crops with water from the Nile, whereas in Denmark farmers depend mainly on the rain,” explains Dr. Mohsen Gameh, professor at the Department of Water and Soil at Assuit University.

The subject of rain brought up not only questions about agriculture among the students but also led to some amusing conversations.

New knowledge 

For the Egyptian students, it was their first time visiting Denmark, and for most of them also the very first time, they travelled abroad.

“It is a great opportunity to exchange knowledge and culture and to get to know people that come from somewhere different,” Sahar Heikal, who studies agriculture at Assuit University, said.

To her, one of the highlights of the field trip was visiting a conventional dairy farm:

“I learned new things about crops like soya beans which the farmer was using to feed the cows on his farm. I had never seen this before,” Sahar Heikal says.

Aliaa Adel, also studying agriculture at Assuit University, highlighted the visit to Grundfos factory, a company that delivers water pumps to the whole world, including Egypt. Here, the students learned about different ways of irrigation.

“My master thesis is about irrigation systems, so it is very interesting to come here and learn about new and sustainable ways to supply water to the land,” Aliaa Adel says.

As the sun was setting over the west coast of Denmark, the students caught the last sun rays in the sand dunes of the North Sea. Despite the cold spring weather, some of the students braved the icy water and dipped their feet, letting the salty air surround them. While some preferred to be only watching, Sarah Saleh walked into the see holding hands with other courageous students.

“I really liked the North Sea. I loved putting my feet in the freezing water even though it was very cold. It was painful too but it was also a really good feeling so I did it again,” she laughs.

Saying goodbye

“Our students have learned a lot during the two field trips, getting to know the countries, the challenges we are facing in Denmark and in Egypt, and how to solve some of them. Culturally, the Danish and the Egyptian students have gotten to know each other quite well, which is a very important part of this project. They really have a lot of hands-on experiences to take with them when they get home,” Magnus Limborg says with a smile.

The students are now back to their studies in Denmark and in Egypt but there is no doubt that the program has allowed for new ideas and bonds to develop. Some of the Egyptian students also expressed interest in pursuing their master degree in Agriculture in Denmark, if possible.

To know more about the project read the articles from Assuit and Denmark from Daily News Egypt.

Read more from DEDI:

Water in the desert

Greening Cairo 

DEDI Green Checklist

This project was managed by program manager Rana Khamis and Lazorde Intern Hatem Mohy El Deen.