- 79 -The association now has committees in four governorates in Lower Egypt and one in Upper Egypt. Two committees will be established this year, one in Lower Egypt and the other in Upper Egypt. The association's scope could not be expanded as quickly as it was due to the existence of Egyptian individuals possessing the necessary qualifications. The association has, from the beginning, been keen on employing only young Egyptian men in the governorate committees who have obtained a certificate from the School of Agriculture and have spent a period of probation in the association's administration or its branches. Among the association's important activities is the distribution of chemical fertilizers. In the first year it was distributed, which was 1901, the value of the fertilizers it imported reached six thousand pounds. In the last season, the value of what it distributed reached 1350 thousand pounds. The result of farmers using fertilizers has been excellent. Indeed, it can be said that there is no country in the world where this result has been better than in Egypt. These fertilizers have been widely used in grain cultivation, increasing the yield per feddan from three to four pounds, with a profit of one to two pounds from the fertilizers. Last year was the first year that attention was directed to the corn crop, and the result was good. Corn is of great importance to the farmer, so it is essential for the association to pay great attention to it. It has now become established that lands in Egypt benefit greatly from chemical fertilizers. There is no doubt that this matter is of great importance to the country, and farmers are very interested in it, as the amount of natural fertilizer they used in the past has decreased significantly, and circumstances have arisen that must be followed. Although the success in using chemical fertilizers has been profitable, the matter is still in its early stages, and its benefits are not fully known in many areas where the association has recently established committees. What about the governorates that do not have committees? There is no doubt that the use of industrial fertilizers is increasing rapidly with the increase in the association's users. The government provided assistance of 1000 pounds last year at an annual interest of 3% to carry out the work and assisted with these funds from September to December. The association used all of it, then imported and returned it to the government. Since the amounts needed in the future are large, the government indicated that it could not provide further funds, and the matter is a normal commercial issue. Since the government provided money at a low interest rate, and it distributed fertilizers with only a 2% profit, it was impossible for merchants to compete with it. In the future, the association will not be able to undertake the distribution and sale of all necessary items. It is hoped that merchants will gradually replace it and sell at low prices that enable farmers to obtain