Egypt's irrigation minister highlights measures taken to fight water poverty

CAIRO – 23 July 2023: Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Hani Sweilam noted in a TV interview Saturday that the water poverty line is 1,000 cubic meters per capita per annum and that the figure in Egypt is half that quantity.

The minister underlined that the salience of careful water management in the country, given it obtains 97 percent of its water resources from the Nile River. That is why billions of pounds have been invested in the water sector since 2014, as modern irrigation methods and water recycling are being introduced.

Sweilam pointed out that the ministry aims for supplying each farmer with water in the right time, quantity, and quality. He further underscored that ongoing reclamation projects are implemented by recycled agricultural wastewater. The quantity used until present is 21 billion cubic meters, and that is the largest in Africa and the Middle East.

Although the ministry is promoting drip irrigation, Minister Sweilam clarified that surface irrigation had to persist in the Nile Delta, given the high levels of soil salinity and to inhibit saltwater intrusion.