Minya, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Egypt along with partners from Ministry of Water Recourses and Irrigation, National Water Research Center and experts from Tottori University in Japan have visited the selected study areas in Minya and Qena governorates to conduct an evaluation study of farms equipped with modern irrigation systems and their environmental and economic impacts, as part of the activities under The Project for Enhancement of Water Productivity in Agriculture implemented by FAO Egypt and funded by the government of Japan.

The team along with experts from Tottori university got the chance to thoroughly discuss the progress and drawbacks of the used modern irrigation methods and to recommend better tools to be utilized to enhance the productivity of crops.

Dr. Nasreldin Hag Elamin, FAO representative in Egypt attended the visit and followed up on the progress of the project. He also had meetings with the farmers (target beneficiaries) and discussed their needs and recommendations to better achieve the project results.

The selected assessment sites included both drip and surface irrigation which gave the team the chance to discuss and assess the differences in crop production and the crops that best fit each irrigation method.

Following this field visit, the project will be organizing a full training program in cooperation with MoWRI to the selected beneficiaries on the full irrigation process to enable them to serve as a demonstration site for the rest of the farms in Qena governorate. the project also aims to enable the beneficiaries to implement modern irrigation through providing them with solar energy pumps to maximize productivity with better/less cost.