Egypt - National Drainage Programme

General

The National Drainage Program is a key part of the government’s Water Resources Development Strategy which seeks to optimize the efficiency of water resource use as well as improve the efficiency of the drainage systems. It should permit to optimize the benefits of irrigation by draining excess irrigation water from agricultural land. The implementation of the programme is expected to result in higher crop yields in the target areas, higher farm incomes, and increased food security and poverty reduction in general. Water logging and the soil salinity can reduce crop productivity by 20-30%. The programme includes three components, namely: (i) construction and rehabilitation of subsurface and surface drainage; (ii) strengthening of the Egyptian Public Authority for Drainage Projects (EPADP) capacity for operation and maintenance; and (iii) project management and institutional development assistance.

Objectives

The principal objectives of this programme are to optimize the benefits of irrigation by draining excess irrigation water from agricultural land in order to reduce water logging and consequent soil salinity, in addition to making more land available for cultivation.

Target Groups

The primary beneficiaries will be the farming households in the project areas. Given the current land tenure in Egypt where the average farm size is one feddan, the primary/target beneficiaries should be approximately 125,000 households or 625,000 people, of which 50% are women. Indirect benefits include the prevention of further deterioration in crop yields if drainage is not improved, decrease of water borne disease incidence, improved rural sanitation, and protection of buildings against damage by the rising water table. Other benefits include an increase in land values after installation of drainage systems; increase in off-farm activities due to increased household income; improved health of households due to reduction of water-borne diseases and better nutrition.