Barren Drylands Brought Back into Production through the Enhancing Agricultural Productivity Project

With support from the Government of Japan, and in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), ICARDA has set a new standard for sustainable agriculture in water-scarce regions with completion of the Enhancing Agricultural Productivity project in Egypt, leaving a blueprint for further advancements through technological innovation combined with community engagement.

For decades, Egyptian farmers have faced significant challenges, including rising energy costs, inefficient irrigation systems, and degraded soils caused by salinity and poor drainage. These problems, further intensified by climate change, have led to limited crop yields, narrowed profit margins, and posed a direct threat to the country's food security. 

 

“The land was highly saline, and the fertilizer would rot; the soil couldn’t absorb it due to the high salinity, so it would simply decay on the surface. I didn’t even bother checking on the land anymore. I was fed up with it.” - Reda Ezzat Hassan El Deen, Farmer, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt

From March 2024 to March 2025, the Enhancing Agricultural Productivity project rolled out a package of efficient, climate-smart farming practices across El-Minya, Qena, and Kafr El-Sheikh governorates in Egypt, each designed to address the pressing challenges of water scarcity, high energy costs, and declining soil fertility.  

“ICARDA is working to ensure that every drop of water is used efficiently in dryland farming, particularly in Egypt. Through the Enhancing Agricultural Productivity project, we introduced a range of low-cost, science-driven solutions to tackle long-standing challenges such as soil salinity, inefficient irrigation, and rising input costs. Together, these innovations are transforming previously unproductive land into thriving farms.” – Dr. Mohie Omar, ICARDA’s Interim Country Coordinator for Egypt and Research Associate - Irrigation and Water.

Farmers gained access to solar-powered drip irrigation systems and agrivoltaics, both of which significantly reduced their reliance on conventional energy sources, such as diesel fuel and grid electricity, while simultaneously lowering costs and reducing emissions. To reclaim degraded soils, the project introduced low-cost microtopography techniques: simple ditches and drains that redirect water flows to wash away excess salts. In lower-lying land areas where saline water collects, farmers combined this with aquaculture, raising fish in these ponds, turning previously wasted water into a new source of income and nutrition. Within just four months, soil salinity levels dropped by 71-94% and internal drain water salinity by 96%, allowing previously barren land to be brought back into production. Complementing these efforts was ICARDA’s next generation lightweight raised bed machine, a practical innovation that transformed efficiency in the field where water use and pumping costs fell by 25%, seed use was halved, fertilizer efficiency improved by 30%, and yields rose by an impressive 30%.  

“The land had been barren since my grandparents’ time. Irrigation was impossible because the salinity was too high. Then ICARDA recommended digging ditches and drains, bringing in fresh water to lower the salinity and reusing the salty water for fish farming. So instead of wasting water, I got double the benefit: crops and fish.” - Abdelrahman Meligy Kersha, Farmer, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt  

Farmers played an active role in shaping these solutions. By gathering feedback from enumerators, extensionists, and farmers themselves, ICARDA uncovered both the challenges and the opportunities the app could address. This input guided the development of an improved version, tailored to the realities of everyday farming. More than 1,500 farmers across Kafr El-Sheikh, El-Minya, and Qena tested the app with support from trained facilitators and field coordinators.  

 

 

Their insights, ranging from the need for crop-specific advice to Arabic-language accessibility, ensured the tool was practical, relevant, and user-friendly.

 

 

“I downloaded the GeoAgro-Misr app, which connects farmers to markets, and it allowed me to order products like fertilizers and pesticides. I was also able to access advisory information through it.” – Asmaa Wahid, Farmer, Kafr ElSheikh, Egypt 

 

 

The impact extended beyond the field. Surveys of 5,000 farmers and a series of workshops fed into ICARDA’s policy-oriented report, Solar Irrigation Potential in Egypt. The report provided tailored recommendations, including national strategies and incentives for policymakers, cooperative water user groups, and efficient practices for farmers, as well as training, innovative financing, and technology transfer for stakeholders.  

 

The project shows that resilience in dryland farming is achievable when technology, policy, and local practice are aligned. Its success, as evidenced by higher yields, lower costs, and reclaimed land, offers a blueprint for other water-scarce regions.  

For ICARDA, it underscores a long-standing commitment to building resilient, profitable agriculture in the drylands. The challenge now is scale. Sustaining momentum will require continued investment in research, innovation, and knowledge-sharing, as well as the commitment of governments and funders to carry the model beyond a single project.   

We extend our sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan for funding this initiative, to FAO and Egypt’s MWRI for their steadfast partnership, and to the farmers whose insights and collaboration brought the project’s innovations to life.  

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Related Innovations: 

• Agrivoltaics - The bright side of shade: agrivoltaics for sustainable water management in drylands | ICARDA 

• ICARDA’s new lightweight RBM - Transformative Innovation for Dryland Agriculture | ICARDA 

• Geo-Agro Misr - GeoAgro-Misr Digital Application Training in Egypt | ICARDA