1898 is the year of foundation
1914 witnesses the gathering of thoroughbred horses and their males breeding.
1897 Exhibitions Committee decides to build the land of “Gazira”
1897 witnesses the opening of the first independent exhibition of agricultural transactions. 1899 Holding exhibitions for horses in the districts of “Giza, Beni Suef and Sohag”
1930 Transferring the horse breeding branch permanently to the stables of Kafr Farouk, Ain Shams.
Written by: Mahmoud Mohamed
Under the patronage of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II in 1898, the Agricultural Association was established, with the aim of guiding farmers on how to improve their crops, promoting agriculture in all its aspects, in addition to providing services to farmers through exhibitions and providing them with seeds Good quality, pure fertilizers, good livestock, latest information and improvement of their agricultural and social condition.
The credit for establishing the association goes to Prince Hussein Kamel Pasha, who was then holding the position of president of an association bearing the name “Al- Zohoor Association”, which made him think about forming an agricultural association whose aim is to help the farmer, and taking his hand in all his life and business facilities.
At the invitation of Prince Hussein Kamel Pasha, a number of personalities which were: “Prince Hussein Kamel Pasha, Prince Ibrahim Ali Pasha, Mister Gibson, Monsieur Paki, Muhammad El Shawarby Pasha, Omar Lotfi Pasha, Ali Helmy Pasha, Ali Shaarawy Pasha, Ismail Debbous Bey, and Mr. Karry started discussing the idea of establishing the association on March 30, 1898.
When the Emir found the opportunity to realize his idea, he invited some personalities and a team of notables from the country on November 17, 1896, to present to them the idea of holding an exhibition of agricultural crops to be held alongside the exhibition of flowers. On January 1, 1897, the first independent exhibition for agricultural transactions was opened, as its revenue from the entrance fee amounted to 7,836 piasters, while the expenses for organizing it amounted to 26,327 piasters. Hossein Kamel Pasha hinted at signs of success in this encouraging result of this small exhibition. On April 6, 1897, the Exhibitions Committee held a meeting at the Prince’s Serail in Giza, where the idea began to mature and It develops, and the committee issues a decision to work on building construction on the island as soon as possible so that the exhibition can take place in 1898. The circle of work began to expand, through the contributions submitted to the committee, and the encouragement it received from the nation and its leaders who supported it with their influence, until the total money, in a short period, reached 63,985 piasters, and on January 14 of the year 1898, the second exhibition was held, and it met with a greater turnout than the first exhibition had.
The association was keen to help the largest possible number of farmers to improve the yield of their livestock, as it sold calves suitable for breeding every year to large farmers, in addition to what the association does in distributing its male horses.
The association also paid special attention to horse breeding since its inception, in cooperation with the Horse Breeding Commission, as it became evident in the exhibitions held in the districts of Giza, Beni Suef, Fayoum, Minya, Assiut and Sohag in 1899. The situation continued until the work of the commission was transferred to the association in 1908, and the animal breeding department at first followed the example of the commission in using small English horses due to the lack of purebred Arabians at that time, and the experience of crossbreeding Arabian mares with English horses did not yield the desired result. Because of the ferocity of its production and the inadequacy of its shape, the association decided to replace it with Arabian horses.
And the opinion settled in the year 1914 on collecting the purebred horses present in all parts of the country and raising their own males, as it is the summary of the breed of horses brought by Abbas Pasha I and bred by Ali Pasha Sherif, while these horses were not present except for Khedive Abbas Hilmi II and the Emir. Muhammad Ali and Lady Planet, where the association was able to obtain some purebred mares and horses, and it raised them and succeeded in raising these pedigree, which encouraged her to continue her work, until all the male horses became of the pure Arabic type. Desiring to create conditions for the accommodation and upbringing of Arabian horses and horses in particular, The association set up other stables in a desert area suitable for breeding Arabian horses, on a land of 55 acres in Kafr Farouk, Ain Shams region. In 1930, the horse breeding branch was permanently transferred to this region, and the association was able to keep the purebred Arabian horses for which Egypt is famous.
The association provided the department with the excellent males needed to improve the production of horses in the Egyptian country, where the number of males reached about 50. The association decided to keep a certain number of mares and production, with the rest being sold annually to the natives and breeders, as the association has become an important reference on which foreign governments and individuals rely to obtain what they need of this kind, and the effect of this appreciation for the group of purebred Arabian horses raised by the association was that It has become frequently visited by many of the great breeders and natives, both Egyptians and foreigners.
The department made the greatest effort to keep the product of mares in its strength and activity, by not entering into it new Arab blood, so that it did not lose its excellent qualities and leak into it weakness and intolerance, as the association had an important role in publishing and printing books in which it talked about how to promote livestock and horses.
Association publications on animal breeding research Among the Association’s publications on animal husbandry research are “Livestock Improvement in Egypt”, “History of Arabian Horse Breeding in Egypt”, “A Journey to the Arab Countries”, “Modern Diagnosis of Pregnancy in Mares” and “Arabian Horse Breeding in Egypt.” , “Animal Breeding – Part One” and “Animal Breeding – Part Two”.
