A farm worker stoops to hand-pick cotton bolls in a long-staple cotton field in Nimrat Al-Basal village, El Mahalla El Kubra, Al-Gharbeya Governorate, Egypt. A collection sack is placed at the base of the cotton plants as the harvest progresses row by row. Egyptian long-staple cotton, known as 'white gold' (Dahab Abyad), is among the finest in the world and has been a cornerstone of Egypt's agricultural economy and textile industry for centuries.