The class spent the day with an excellent tour in
the heart of the Nile Delta. Mr. Hamed Ahmed Al- Shiaty, owner of Shiaty farms and
Chairman of SHOURA chemicals met us at the hotel for the bus ride to his farm. His
farm is in the center of the Nile Delta  and consists of 60 tillable acres. 30 acres
are in Vineyard, 14 acres in Mango and 14 acres in Citrus. He also grows a few
almonds and palm dates. The history of Shiaty farms is well over 200 years of
farming in the Nile Delta. His father accumulated 600 acres by 1950 and after
changes in government policy by 1952 the original farm was split into smaller
parcels. Along with the grape and citrus farm, Mr. Shiaty owns a newly
reclaimed farm in the desert lands 100 km northwest of Cairo and 600 km south of
Cairo.
 One of the recent additions to the Shiaty enterprise is a "Tissue Culture
Lab" located on the Nile Delta farm. Mr. Shiaty's daughter, Dr. Olfat H. El
Shiaty, manages the tissue lab. Dr. Shiaty, holds a Ph.D. in Micro Propagation in
Palm Trees, from North Hampton University, England. Along with managing the lab she
teaches at the Cairo University. The tissue lab has been operational since the early
90's. The main  objective of the lab is to propagate and accelerate growth of various
plant cultures from potatoes to flowers. These cultures are sent to the lab by both
research and commercial companies. One project included developing a specific
"palm date" for IRAQ. Viewing the lab was a great opportunity to see the
tissue culture growth process, which is a critical step in gene transformation programs.
 Mr. Shiaty hosted us to a very exquisite lunch that included kabob of lamb, chicken,
veal and broccoli and chicken lasagna dishes. After lunch we concluded with a
Q&A session with Mr. Shiaty and the class. Mr. Shiaty extended his most sincere
thanks to us by concluding, "When you see or speak to your congressmen tell them that
Egypt says thank you and we appreciate all the good things the USA has given Egypt"
(technological advances).
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