Egypt links crop forecasting to irrigation schedules to improve water allocation

Egypt is working to link a digital crop-forecasting tool with its irrigation rotation system to calculate actual crop water requirements and distribute water through canals more precisely, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said.

Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam reviewed updates to the irrigation rotation application and an initial version of a crop-forecasting tool based on economic, social, climatic, and water-related criteria.

The ministry said the irrigation application had been upgraded to make it easier for irrigation engineers to enter and update data, providing farmers with more accurate information on when water is expected to reach individual canals.

New functions will also allow the ministry to communicate directly with farmers and other users through real-time notifications on irrigation schedules, emergency works, and developments affecting agricultural activities, turning the application into a two-way communication platform.

Sewilam said farmers could access the system through mobile phones and use published irrigation schedules to plan when to irrigate their crops.

Officials also reviewed an initial crop-forecasting tool designed to identify the types, areas, and locations of cultivated crops using economic, social, climatic, and water-related indicators.

The ministry said the data would allow it to estimate actual water requirements across different areas more accurately and improve planning for water allocation.

Sewilam said integrating the two systems would allow crop data to be used to calculate water demand and then translate those requirements into irrigation schedules for individual canals.

The approach is intended to more closely align crop water requirements with the quantity and timing of water deliveries as part of the ministry’s broader shift towards data-driven water management and digitalisation.