Sessions
WF3: Understanding, valuing water, and managing irrigated agriculture in the Nile basin ***ENDED
1:45 PM - 4:00 PM Thu
Estimated basin-wide economic value of irrigation water for 14 crops based on farm-gate prices. Farming systems fell in four typologies: the intensive system of Egypt, the semi-intensive system of Sudan, and the extensive systems of the Ethiopian Highlands and Nile Equatorial Lakes Region. Found the highest value of irrigation water was for perennial crops followed by vegetables. Staple crops generally had low value of irrigation water. The lowers observed values were for the cash crops cotton and sugar cane.:
The paper frames challenges for irrigation development in the Nile Basin based on an extensive analysis of land suitability, irrigation land projection, water economic value and water saving scenarios against a background of rising populations, increasing food and water demands, climate change impacts and socio-political trends. From the challenges, the paper formulates three policy strategic directs to guide irrigation development in the Nile Basin. The three policy directions are (1) cooperation and harmonization; (2) improving the agricultural and irrigation sector at country and key topology of the basin; and (3) improving the capacity of the basin.