The Minister of Irrigation stresses the importance of coordination between ministries to develop accurate studies for projects and take into account economic feasibility
The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr. Hani Sweilem, stressed the importance of joint coordination between all ministries and concerned authorities to develop a clear vision and accurate technical studies when developing project plans, with the necessity of taking into account the economic feasibility, environmental impact and social dimension when implementing any project by ensuring citizens’ satisfaction with its implementation before starting it. He pointed out that this is what the ministry is keen on when implementing projects to convert to modern irrigation in clay lands through continuous communication with farmers; To encourage them to make this shift by presenting the financial gains that farmers gain when using modern irrigation systems or developing irrigation canals with a single-lift point system, which is accepted by many farmers.
This came during a meeting held by Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, with the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and the World Bank mission headed by Rabeh Karaki, Director of Agriculture and Food Practices for the Middle East and North Africa at the Bank.
The three ministers reviewed with the World Bank mission the status of the Climate-Resilient Agricultural Food Transformation Project (CRAFT), one of the food axis projects in the “Nawafi” program, in the presence of Sherine El-Sharkawy, Assistant Minister of Finance, and the ministry’s work team.
The Minister of Irrigation said that the ministry’s vision is based on raising the overall efficiency of water use and maximizing the return per unit of water.. pointing out the importance of relying on modern irrigation systems in agriculture, provided that the latest systems used globally are used, especially in light of what modern irrigation achieves in Positive gains such as increasing crop productivity, improving the quality of the produced crops, increasing export potential, raising the efficiency of field irrigation, and increasing the return from the unit of water and land, in conjunction with the expansion of the use of solar energy in lifting water, and joint coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture to develop a mechanism for developing irrigation canals with a single lifting point system and pipes under pressure with the operation of a modern integrated irrigation network.
He added that several meetings were held between ministry officials and representatives of the World Bank to discuss procedures for implementing integrated activities to develop irrigation, modern irrigation, and water management under the umbrella of the "CRAFT" project. With the strengthening of the role of water user associations, where it was agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank to implement the project in the governorates of: Menoufia, Sharkia, and Gharbia, with a focus on achieving a number of targets such as developing irrigation systems, using drip irrigation in places agreed upon with farmers, supporting farmers’ capacities, and reusing agricultural drainage water, taking into account environmental, social, and economic factors and sustainability standards, and determining the Ministry’s priorities when selecting the targeted areas for the project, which are the areas located in the centers of the Decent Life Initiative, the areas served by rehabilitated canals, and the areas facing challenges in delivering water efficiently. For her part, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation said that the Climate-Smart Agricultural Food Transformation (CRAFT) project aims to enhance climate resilience and the adoption of climate-sustainable agriculture (CSA) techniques and practices by farmers within the scope of the project by providing improved irrigation services, encouraging the adoption of climate-sustainable agriculture techniques and practices, and increasing access to financing and technical support for collection and access to Markets, and increasing access to better information to support decision-making in agriculture at the state level.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat confirmed that the geographical areas of the project sites were determined according to the needs and priorities of the national strategic authorities for developing irrigation systems, and taking into account the fair distribution of development projects throughout the republic to be in the Delta governorates for the modern irrigation component (centers and villages of the Decent Life Initiative) and all over the republic for the component of establishing an early warning system.
She added that the project structure consists of two main components: establishing a climate-smart agricultural food system in the Delta region, sustainable management of agricultural risks for a resilient transformation, in addition to several sub-components represented in increasing the productivity of the agricultural food system, enhancing the integration of small farmers into value chains, developing an integrated agricultural information system, managing agricultural risks and enhancing innovation.
For his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation stressed the importance of the project, as it aims to enhance crop productivity and adapt to climate change in the Nile Valley and Delta region, and support the capabilities of small farmers to adapt to the risks and repercussions of climate change, and is reflected on the residents of the Valley and Delta region, which is expected to It benefits about 30 million citizens living in the Nile Valley and Delta. Pointing out that the project is expected to achieve several results, including improving the ability to adapt in the Nile Valley and Delta region in areas expected to be exposed to climate change, increasing crop productivity by 10-15% and increasing income by 10-20%.
He added that the project helps in establishing early warning units and systems that improve the weather forecasting system and support the services provided to farmers within the framework of agricultural weather forecasting, as well as establishing an agricultural insurance system against the risks of climate change in areas exposed to risks, in addition to developing a database for the flow of agricultural information and analyzing it and enhancing modern agricultural guidance, which contributes to building the capacity of small farmers to withstand the repercussions of climate change, by publishing recommendations for agricultural operations according to climate variables through the use of the latest advanced technologies in the field of communications and digital information.
The meeting witnessed a discussion of the results and outputs of the technical qualification phase of the project, including the axis of technical support for qualifying projects and preparing feasibility studies, where the technical expertise available to the World Bank was used, and the bank provided all the expertise and consultants to work on the detailed technical design of the project and its main components, including Focuses on the concept of comprehensive and sustainable rural development, and with regard to the axis of advisory services and attracting the private sector, international expertise was used to formulate the optimal financial framework for financing agricultural development operations, in addition to examining the proposed tools and mechanisms for financing the project and providing appropriate financing terms to support and enhance the role of the private sector in rural development projects. Discussion sessions were also held with representatives of banks and private sector institutions working in agricultural projects to discuss ways to enhance private sector participation in project implementation.
The developmental impact of the project was highlighted, which is represented in expanding the coverage of improved irrigation services by about 20,000 acres in old lands, in addition to expanding the agricultural loan portfolio by about 20%, increasing the adoption of climate-sustainable agricultural technologies and practices by about 18,000 farms, in addition to about 130,000 people in rural areas enjoying more flexible livelihoods as a result of the above.
The Climate-Resilient Agricultural Food Transformation (CRAFT) project is one of the food axis projects of the “Nawafi” program, which was launched by the Ministry in 2022, during the Climate Conference COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, resulted from the integration of the projects of establishing early warning systems and adapting crop production in the Nile Valley and Delta. The World Bank is the main development partner in implementing the project, which enhances the country’s efforts in the field of combating climate change.
