The primitive norag is still seen in Egypt threshing the grain and cutting up the straw for fodder. It moves on small iron wheels or thin circular plates and is drawn in a circle over the wheat or barley.

The Egyptian agricultural year has three seasons. Cereal crops are sown in November and harvested in May; the summer crops are cotton, sugar, and rice; the fall crops, sown in July, are corn, millet, and vegetables.