FAO, Irrigation Min. Discuss Cooperation

On Tuesday, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam received FAO Representative in Egypt Nasr El-Din Haj El-Amin, Senior Natural Resources Officer at FAO, Walid Hassan, to discuss joint cooperation to enhance water productivity in the country.

During the meeting, they followed up on the “Enhancement of Water Productivity in Agriculture” project, which is carried out by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the FAO and funded by the Japanese government.

They also reviewed advisory work accompanying the project through the joint study between the National Water Research Center and the Japanese Tottori University in order to tackle the challenge of fragmentation of agricultural ownership in Egypt, increase water productivity and ensure sustainable income.

In the same connection, they highlighted the importance of expanding the formation of water user associations on the developed courses to contribute to dealing with the challenge of fragmentation of agricultural ownership.

Sweilam noted that the project is integrated with the ministry’s strategy, which includes the transformation of modern irrigation in sandy lands, sugar cane farms and orchards, and the implementation of development works for watering cans by converting them into pressurized pipes with a single-lift system with the use of solar energy.

It's worth mentioning that FAO supports member countries to develop and implement climate-resilient agriculture.