The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Aty, said, on the sidelines of his participation as a keynote speaker in the “Urban Water Security for Sustainable Development” session within the activities of the “Arab Week for Sustainable Development” in its fourth edition in Egypt, that Egypt is one of the countries in the world that suffers most from water scarcity. It depends 97% on the waters of the Nile River. Egypt’s water needs amount to 114 billion cubic meters annually, offset by water resources that do not exceed 60 billion cubic meters annually. With a deficit of 54 billion cubic meters annually.
This gap is being bridged by reusing water and importing agricultural crops equivalent to about 34 billion cubic meters annually. He explained that 40 million people in Egypt depend on agriculture as a main source of income. The per capita share of green spaces in Egypt is less than 40 square metres.
In this regard, Dr. Asim Abdel Moneim, assistant professor and researcher at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate at the Agricultural Research Center, says that water scarcity affects food production.
According to the International Water Management Institute, 70% of fresh water is used for agriculture, plant, animal and fish production. So the matter became more complicated in light of the competition with other sectors for the use of fresh water. such as domestic, industrial and environmental uses. In addition, climate change will have significant impacts on agriculture by increasing the demand for water to irrigate crops and drinking animals, decreasing crop productivity and reducing water availability in areas where irrigation is most needed.
