The research aimed to study the production situation and the productive and economic indicators of the maize crop to estimate and analyze farmers' responses to farm prices and some other economic variables during the period (2000-2021). This was done by identifying the factors that most influence the area cultivated with the maize crop through estimating the response functions of the supply of the maize crop in comparison with the competing summer crops. Also, the degree of farmers' response and the time period required to achieve this response was studied. To achieve the objectives of the study, descriptive and quantitative statistical analysis methods were used, through the Nerlov model to estimate the response functions of the maize crop area in the linear form. The study relied on published and unpublished secondary data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation during the period (2000-2021).
The study dealt with the development of the area cultivated with maize during the period (2001-2021). The average area cultivated with maize in 2001 was about 1773.5 thousand fed, and in 2021 it reached about 2246.9 thousand fed, meaning that it increased by about 27%.
The average productivity per fed during the year 2001 was about 3.44 tons/ fed, while it decreased in 2021 to reach about 3.32 tons/ fed. The national consumption of corn in Egypt in 2001 reached about 11.23 million tons, and it increased to reach about 17.086 million tons in 2021, with average increase 54%. The average per capita share of the maize crop in 2001 was about 54.3 kg/year, while the year 2021 reached about 43.7 kg/year, meaning that it decreased in 2021 than 2001 by about 15%. The study also found a decline in the economic efficiency of the maize crop for the period (2001-2021), as the average amounted to the average profitability of the invested pound, the relative profitability, and the producer incentive are about 0.56, 0.82 and 10.59, with a decreasing annual growth rate of about 4.1%, 4.5% and 2.5%, respectively. By estimating the maize supply response functions according to the farm price, the cost of producing a ton, and the ton net return of the same crop during the period from (2001-2021) is directly proportional to the area slowing down a year. By estimating the response functions of the maize crop using one variable with the area, slowing down a year, it turns out that the response of the cultivated area of maize during the study period (2001-2021) was directly proportional to the cost of a ton of soybeans, the cost of a ton of sunflowers, the cost of a ton of rice, the cost of a ton of blossom cotton, the cost of a ton of summer tomatoes, the cost of a ton of peanuts, the ratio of the net yield of corn/sunflowers, the ratio of net yield of corn/ rice.