Egypt, ICARDA seek to scale up solar irrigation, desalination projects

Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Director General Nizar Haddad discussed expanding cooperation on water conservation, solar-powered irrigation, desalination and soil salinity management under a joint programme running through 2027.

The two sides reviewed implementation of their 2025-2027 joint work programme, which aims to translate areas of cooperation outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed during the seventh Cairo Water Week in 2024 into practical projects and activities.

The programme includes a pilot desalination unit at the National Water Research Center’s Wadi El Natrun research station under the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s Water Scarcity Initiative, in which ICARDA participates.

Other activities include establishing farmer field schools in Qena and Kafr El-Sheikh and introducing integrated systems for managing soil salinity alongside agricultural production and aquaculture.

The meeting also reviewed the “Enhancing Food Security in Egypt” project, implemented in cooperation with the Japanese government, which aims to strengthen climate resilience, improve agricultural and water productivity, and support sustainable rural livelihoods.

The project includes deploying solar energy for irrigation, managing soil salinity, improving agricultural extension services, building technical capacity and introducing digital tools.

Sewilam called for successful practices in water productivity, solar-powered irrigation, salinity management, agricultural extension and digital irrigation to be expanded to additional areas.

He said cooperation with ICARDA aimed to improve water-use efficiency while strengthening the long-term sustainability and productivity of Egypt’s agricultural sector.