Siwa, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) began installing a drip irrigation network covering 30 feddans in Siwa Oasis as a model for water consumption according to traditional and modern irrigation systems. FAO has also provided a meteorological station to measure temperature degrees, wind speed, solar radiation, humidity and evaporation in newly reclaimed areas in Siwa.

These efforts come under the umbrella of the project “Support for Sustainable Water Management and Modernization of Irrigation in Newly Reclaimed Areas”, which is funded and implemented by FAO in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI). Moreover, in cooperation with the Horticulture Institute of MALR and the Governorate of Marsa Matruh, FAO organized a training course for about 75 farmers from Siwa on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and cropping patterns for the cultivation and production of dates and olives in newly reclaimed land.

A complete survey of the Siwa Oasis is being carried out, the results of which will help in implementing cropping structures and underground wells to calculate quantities of crop water needed in newly reclaimed lands.

“FAO is currently testing an information management system based on monitoring and remote sensing data to support MWRI, as well as MALR in monitoring "water consumption" and "water productivity" in newly reclaimed areas, thereby promoting the 1.5 million feddans national project, said Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in his opening speech.

The project "Support for sustainable water management and modernization of irrigation in newly reclaimed areas" aims to establish a system for monitoring and calculating water consumption at the field level and from groundwater wells. Moreover, it aims at maximizing water productivity and building capacities of relevant professionals and stakeholders,” Gadain added.

During the lifetime of the project, which was launched in February 2018, three agreements were signed with MWRI, MALR represented by the Horticulture Institute and the University of Heliopolis. MWRI is responsible for applying water accounting standards to the study area - Siwa. While MALR measures water productivity with a focus on olive and date crops as the largest crops targeted in reclaimed land; the University of Heliopolis will conduct the training for the selected team from both ministries.

It is worth noting that the project applies water monitoring by developing a drip irrigation system and a meteorological station in Siwa Oasis on an area of 30 feddans, and by comparing the results with the ones arising from the traditional irrigation methods in the same area.

The project is part of FAO’s support to the Egyptian Government under the Country Program Framework (CPF) 2018-2022, which includes using modern irrigation technologies and methods, adopting an effective water management system in farms and a strong water monitoring system. It includes as well, testing two types of modern irrigation technologies and practices (one in the old land and another one in the new territories) and verifying their efficiency during 2019.