EGYPT: €2.3 million from Italy for water management training

A training program in water resources management will be launched soon in Egypt. The initiative, which involves technicians from the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, will be implemented with funding from Italy. The grant of 2.3 million euros will help build the capacity of Egyptian experts in an integrated approach to water resources management, at a time when the country of the pharaohs is seeing its water reserves diminish drastically due to drought.

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The objective is to increase the efficiency of these technicians in the field. The Regional Training Center of the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ciheam Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari will implement the training program. A module of the program will be mainly dedicated to the sharing of experience and knowledge between Egyptian and Italian experts, especially on water management techniques. Italy is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in its history with 40% of its agricultural production devastated in the north.

As for Egypt, the government plans to impose taxes on irrigation water to limit the water deficits caused by climate change. Cairo is also banking on the reuse of treated wastewater and the desalination of sea water to supply water to the population. Egypt is expected to face a shortage of fresh water by 2025. If this situation were to occur, its agricultural production would decrease by 47% by 2060.

The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is also counting on Italian funding to strengthen the infrastructure and technology of its regional training center, enabling it to become a “leading training agency in Egypt and Africa.

Inès Magoum