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Irrigation improvement projects in the Nile Delta: Promises, challenges, surprises

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  • Molle, François
  • Rap, Edwin
  • Al-Agha, Doaa Ezzat
  • El Hassan, Waleed Abou
  • Freeg, Mohammed

Abstract

In the past three decades successive “Irrigation Improvement Projects” (IIP) have been implemented in the Nile Valley and Delta of Egypt. They have consisted in replacing scattered individual pumps by collective pumps serving distribution networks at the tertiary level, while ensuring a continuous flow in secondary canals, in lieu of the rotational system. This intervention has been praised as “a state-of-the-art project” spearheading the ‘modernization’ of irrigation in Egypt. Given their ambitious objectives and the massive investment of capital planned - the 1986 policy’s target was to ‘improve’ one million ha by the year 2000 - these modernization efforts warrant thorough independent evaluation. This article attempts to revisit the achievements of the project after 30 years of implementation by presenting findings derived from fieldwork surveys carried out in the central part of the Delta. We document how these socio-technical innovations perform on the ground, how they change water distribution and how, in turn, they are adopted and reshaped by farmers. Understanding the contexts in which improvement projects are most beneficial, and the conditions under which such investments may be at risk, leads us to make recommendations as to how the design and implementation of these projects can be improved but also to ask whether such investment is essential for the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Molle, François & Rap, Edwin & Al-Agha, Doaa Ezzat & El Hassan, Waleed Abou & Freeg, Mohammed, 2019. "Irrigation improvement projects in the Nile Delta: Promises, challenges, surprises," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 425-435.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:216:y:2019:i:c:p:425-435
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2019.02.013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geof Wood, 1985. "The Politics of Development Policy Labelling," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 347-373, July.
    2. Edwin Rap & Francois Molle & Doaa Ezzat El-Agha & Waleed Abou El Hassan, 2019. "The limits to participation: branch-canal water user associations in the Egyptian Delta," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 31-50, January.
    3. Molle, François & Gaafar, Ibrahim & El-Agha, Doaa Ezzat & Rap, Edwin, 2018. "The Nile delta's water and salt balances and implications for management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 110-121.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Tawfik, Mohamed & Nassif, Marie-Helene & Mahjoub, O. & Mahmoud, A. E. D. & Kassab, G. & Alomair, M. & Hoogesteger, J., 2022. "Water reuse policy and institutional development in MENA: case studies from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia," IWMI Books, Reports H051738, International Water Management Institute.
    2. Diego Suárez & José M. Díaz-Puente & Maddalena Bettoni, 2021. "Risks Identification and Management Related to Rural Innovation Projects through Social Networks Analysis: A Case Study in Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-23, June.
    3. Ahmed Soliman & Andreas Thiel & Matteo Roggero, 2021. "Institutional Performance of Collective Irrigation Systems: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis in the Nile Delta of Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-29, January.
    4. Marco Maciel-Monteon & Jorge Limon-Romero & Carlos Gastelum-Acosta & Yolanda Baez-Lopez & Diego Tlapa & Manuel Iván Rodríguez Borbón, 2020. "Improvement project in higher education institutions: A BPEP-based model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, January.

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