By Amira Sayed With Egypt's water hurdles growing and its water resources shrinking, the government has taken strict measures to deal with the water shortage. Bearing in mind that agriculture is the largest water consumer in the country, the government has decided to reduce water use in agriculture by putting the brakes on the cultivation of water-consuming crops, especially rice. In an attempt to adapt to water scarcity, the Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry, in co-operation with the other ministries concerned, has decreased rice cultivation from 1.1 million feddans to approximately 724,000 feddans. The Agriculture Ministry has allocated a certain number of feddans to rice-growing and has threatened farmers with fines, should they break the rules. Every kilogramme of rice requires 1,400 litres of water and Egypt's rice cultivation requires a total of 1.8 billion cubic metres, according to official sources. "I totally support reducing the water used in agriculture. We have to move from the availability culture to the scarcity culture to be able to meet the multiple water challenges haunting not only Egypt but the whole world. The farmers should be aware of that!" water expert, Deyaa el-Din el-Qousi, told The Egyptian Gazette. El- Qousi, a former adviser to the water resources and irrigation minister, said the current area allocated to rice cultivation could meet local demands. "But, some farmers want to cultivate more feddans to export rice and increase their profits. Exporting rice or any water-thirsty crops means exporting the country's water," he said. According to the Water Resources Irrigation Minister, Mohamed Abdel Ati, Egypt's water resources amount to only 60 billion cubic metres per year, including 55.5 billion cubic metres from the River Nile. The country requires 114 billion cubic metres per year to meet all its water demands. In the light of the anticipated decrease in Egypt's share of the Nile water due to the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the government is stepping up its efforts to boost its water management system. "The government should launch more campaigns to increase the farmers' awareness of the current dire water situation, so they can understand the reasons for reducing the cultivation of crops that have a high water consumption. They should also be trained in modern water-saving farming practices," el-Qousi said. Khaled Mashhour, a Member of Parliament (MP), said the farmers were bearing the brunt of the decisions on the water-thirsty crops. "These decisions affect their livelihood. Also, 724,000 feddans of rice are not enough to meet local needs by any means," Mashhour told the Gazette. This means that the government would later have to import rice, the so-called virtual water, to meet the local demand. "This is not the right solution. This way, the government is solving the problem of water shortage by creating another problem in the agriculture sector. We are all keen on rationalising water and ensuring water security. But, in my opinion, there are other effective solutions that would not harm farmers," he added. The government, MP Mashhour continued, can reduce water consumption without limiting the cultivated area. "The Agriculture Research Centre (ARC), should do its job by introducing water-saving techniques instead of the ministry just decreasing the cultivated land," he suggested. Mohamed Ouf, Professor of Agriculture at Cairo University, shared the same opinion. He said there were other types of rice that consume half the amount of water used in cultivating the rice being planted these days. "The ARC can introduce these types to ensure both water safety and the farmers' satisfaction. We have to take into consideration that reducing cultivation would result in a major loss in farmland because the soil would be affected by salinity," he said. "Scientific research," he added, "can play a crucial role in finding a way out of this crisis, without harming the water sector, farmers or agricultural land."
