In Egypt the agricultural sector is the backbone of the economy. It absorbs about 36% of the total employment and contributes to about 17% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Agriculture is also considered to be the main supplier for basic goods. As a result, the quest to bring new land under cultivation has been a cornerstone of Egyptian agricultural policy since the 1950s. The Egyptian government has undertaken an extensive program to reclaim desert lands and establishing new communities. The target is to increase the cultivated area in order to upgrade the agricultural production and exports, create new job opportunities and reorganize population distribution by encouraging people to migrate from a rather narrow valley to the new lands.