Tel:	202-730771 2/10/20/21

Fax:	202-7307715, 7377571

Areas of activity:
Applied science and technology: Agriculture and natural resources


Mission and objectives:
DDC′S mission is to improve the social and economic wellbeing of new desert settlers, through the use of research, training and related activities which integrate among agriculture, renewable energy and community aspects in order to achieve sustainability through increased productivity, profitability, diversity of output and conservation of natural resources.
DDC has adopted four major strategic issues:
- Water management in the new lands and on-farm, water- use efficiency under different desert farming systems;
- Environmental impacts of desert developmental activities;
- Socio-economic impacts of desert development activities;
- Training of current and potential desert settlers.

Founded: 1979

Sources:
Core funding is provided by the American university in Cairo. In addition the research programme is funded by international agencies and individuals, including the Near East Foundation, the IDRC, USAID, the United States National Science Foundation (NSF), the Government of Finland, Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO Solar), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the Samuel Rubin Foundation, Misr Iran Development Bank, John Goelet and DANIDA, Local contributions were provided by Nimos, Sheikh Saleh Kamel, Citibank and Chase Manhattan Bank. The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MOALR), through the 416-B/LW AID fonts, has recently granted AUC/DDC LE 13.2 million over four years (1994- 1997), to train university graduates in desert agriculture using the technologies developed at DDC.