Water Scarcity and Irrigation Efficiency in Egypt

Abstract

This study provides quantitative assessments of the impacts of efficiency enhancement for different types of irrigation water under water scarcity conditions. It employs a single country CGE (STAGE 2) model calibrated to an extended version of a recently constructed SAM for Egypt 2008/09. The SAM segments the agricultural accounts by season and by irrigation scheme, including Nile- and groundwater-dependent as well as rain-fed agricultural activities. The simulations show that Egypt should manage potential reductions in the supply of Nile water with more efficient irrigation practices which increase the productivity of Nile water, groundwater and irrigated land. The results suggest a more ambitious plan to boost irrigation efficiency for summer rice would be desirable in order to outweigh any potential shrinkage in output and exports. Furthermore, even doubling all non-conventional water resources is not sufficient to compensate the potential adverse impacts of Nile water losses. This highlights the importance of irrigation efficiency for the Egyptian economy.

Grains Production Prospects and Long Run Food Security in Egypt

“…A rise of mean temperature would escalate the evaporation rate and increase the demand for irrigation water. Previous research concluded there would be a severe reduction in water flows to Egypt due to construction of the GRED that would largely affect the agricultural sector in the summer season [39,40]. These same studies suggested that agricultural production would shift from water-intensive crops such as rice, sugar cane, and winter fodders to less water-consuming crops.…”

“…These findings emphasize the sustainable use of water and land resources as a policy option to mitigate the impact of water scarcity and partially compensate for potential future water reductions. Increasing water-use efficiency through investing in irrigation infrastructure and improving water resources management practices could raise agricultural productivity, limit the degradation of land fertility, and provide more water for expanding the cultivated area, leading eventually to increased food production and enhanced food security [22,40,[42][43][44]. Moreover, much support and attention should be paid to small farmers that are often seen as the driving force of agricultural development, and food security in many areas of the country.…”

“…Further, Gohar and Ward [43] suggested that food staples might not be affected by the modest water supply reductions (10% supply reduction) because of food security goals. However, severely reduced water inflows will have a substantial impact on agricultural production and, in turn, food security [40,43,46]. Furthermore, a focus on increasing self-sufficiency has resulted in allocating more water for irrigation with little attention to efficient irrigation practices [47].…”

“…Conserving water will ultimately raise crop yields if water is reallocated to more productive uses, and enhancing productivity by increasing water-use efficiency would optimize the potential increase in production from land reclamation [22]. Moreover, more effective water-utilization practices may compensate for the potential reduction in Nile water flows [40].…”

Is improving Nile water quality ‘fruitful’?

“…This study focuses on the twin issues of irrigation and water quality in agricultural production. It builds on the limited number of studies of water quality, e.g., Brouwer et al (2008) and Dellink et al (2011) and water as an input to agricultural production, e.g., Robinson & Gueneau (2013), Luckmann et al (2014) and Osman et al (2016).7…”