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Article History

Received: 25 April 2025

Accepted: 13 August 2026

First Online: 20 August 2026

Declarations

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study did not require ethical approval. In Egypt, the requirement for ethical review of research involving human participants is governed by Law No. 214 of 2020 on the Regulation of Clinical Medical Research and its Executive Regulations (Prime Minister’s Decree No. 927 of 2022), which define the categories of research that require ethical review and approval. The Law applies to clinical and medical research involving human participants, including studies of medicinal products, biological products, medical devices, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions, surgical procedures, and other medical investigations. The Executive Regulations further extend these requirements to non-interventional medical research involving human participants. The present study was a non-interventional social science survey of adult smallholder farmers conducted through voluntary, anonymous questionnaires. It involved no medical or clinical intervention, no biological procedures or specimen collection, and no identifiable personal data. Accordingly, the study does not fall within the categories of research regulated by Law No. 214 of 2020 and therefore did not require ethical committee approval under Egyptian law. Consistent with this, the study protocol, comprising the data-collection instrument and the proposed informed consent procedures, was submitted to and assessed by the Office of the Vice Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, the institutional office responsible for overseeing research and postgraduate affairs within the Faculty, for determining whether a study requires ethical review or other institutional clearances (e.g., security clearance). On 6 May 2024, the Office confirmed that, in view of the study’s minimal risk, the non-medical and non-interventional nature of the study, the absence of vulnerable populations, and collection of only anonymous, non-sensitive data, no ethics committee review or additional institutional approval was required. All procedures were nonetheless conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to each interview, participants were informed about the objectives of the study, the voluntary nature of their participation, the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses, and their right to withdraw from the survey at any time without any adverse consequences. Participants were then asked to provide their informed consent before the interview commenced.