Agricultural Production in Egypt: Assessing Vulnerability …
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Farmers in the region face a series of challenges, to which climate change will be
risk multiplier. They include limited and degraded natural resource that are poorly
managed (especially of water and land), limited land tenure security, small farm
sizes, low technological access, low market access and limited investment [15]. Of
the various agricultural communities, it is small-scale farmers who will be disproportionately impacted by climate change. This is partly due to their direct dependence
on natural resources and detachment from the extension services and social protection systems that could enable them to build their capacity and resilience. Rain-fed
areas (farming systems that depend mainly on precipitation) are likely to be the most
dramatically impacted along with pastoralists, farm laborers and landless. Nevertheless, the impacts will be locally specific and difficult to predict [15]. In addition, part
of the challenge in estimating the impacts of climate change on smallscale farmers
is that there is no unanimous definition of this group. Nevertheless, analysis of the
impacts of climate change at the farming system level regarding crop and livestock
production and productivity, as well as the implications that this has for the livelihoods of those dependent on them, will elucidate some of the common trends and
challenges. Most of the farmers live in the areas of mixed cereals-livestock farming
systems keep goats, which are the most vulnerable to climate change after cattle.
Their vulnerability comes from the fact that while the potential impact of climate
change on livestock is less than that on crops, there is limited adaptive capacity for
any of them [5].
3 The Farming System in Egypt
The farming system along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt is irrigated, and 94.8%
of all small-scale farmers in Egypt depend on the Nile water for irrigation. Cereals,
legumes, sugar crops, oilseeds and forages are cultivated by small-scale farmers for
their own consumption with the surplus being sold at the nearest market. Rice, wheat
and maize are the major cereal crops cultivated, occupying most of the irrigated land.
Unlike rice and wheat, maize is used largely for livestock and poultry feed. Sugar
cane and sugar beet are grown along the Nile River in Upper (southern) Egypt as
well as the Nile Delta. Broad beans and soybeans are also cultivated [16].
Where these field crops are not grown, horticultural crops (fruits and vegetables)
are grown instead and used as cash crops. These include Egyptian clover, berseem,
oranges, grapes, stone fruits and pome fruits. Clover and berseem are commonly cultivated in the Nile Delta. Regarding fruit, oranges are the most important, representing 85% of total citrus production. For vegetables, tomatoes are the most important
even though they represent only around three percent of Egypt’s total planted area.
Potatoes are the second most important vegetable after tomatoes. Medium and large
farms focus on the cultivation of horticultural crops instead of field crops, whereas
the small-scale farmers focus more on field crops.
Furthermore, traditional farming systems such as those employed by small-scale
farmers are typically mixed and integrated crop-livestock systems. In 2010, 68.5%
211
Farmers in the region face a series of challenges, to which climate change will be
risk multiplier. They include limited and degraded natural resource that are poorly
managed (especially of water and land), limited land tenure security, small farm
sizes, low technological access, low market access and limited investment [15]. Of
the various agricultural communities, it is small-scale farmers who will be disproportionately impacted by climate change. This is partly due to their direct dependence
on natural resources and detachment from the extension services and social protection systems that could enable them to build their capacity and resilience. Rain-fed
areas (farming systems that depend mainly on precipitation) are likely to be the most
dramatically impacted along with pastoralists, farm laborers and landless. Nevertheless, the impacts will be locally specific and difficult to predict [15]. In addition, part
of the challenge in estimating the impacts of climate change on smallscale farmers
is that there is no unanimous definition of this group. Nevertheless, analysis of the
impacts of climate change at the farming system level regarding crop and livestock
production and productivity, as well as the implications that this has for the livelihoods of those dependent on them, will elucidate some of the common trends and
challenges. Most of the farmers live in the areas of mixed cereals-livestock farming
systems keep goats, which are the most vulnerable to climate change after cattle.
Their vulnerability comes from the fact that while the potential impact of climate
change on livestock is less than that on crops, there is limited adaptive capacity for
any of them [5].
3 The Farming System in Egypt
The farming system along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt is irrigated, and 94.8%
of all small-scale farmers in Egypt depend on the Nile water for irrigation. Cereals,
legumes, sugar crops, oilseeds and forages are cultivated by small-scale farmers for
their own consumption with the surplus being sold at the nearest market. Rice, wheat
and maize are the major cereal crops cultivated, occupying most of the irrigated land.
Unlike rice and wheat, maize is used largely for livestock and poultry feed. Sugar
cane and sugar beet are grown along the Nile River in Upper (southern) Egypt as
well as the Nile Delta. Broad beans and soybeans are also cultivated [16].
Where these field crops are not grown, horticultural crops (fruits and vegetables)
are grown instead and used as cash crops. These include Egyptian clover, berseem,
oranges, grapes, stone fruits and pome fruits. Clover and berseem are commonly cultivated in the Nile Delta. Regarding fruit, oranges are the most important, representing 85% of total citrus production. For vegetables, tomatoes are the most important
even though they represent only around three percent of Egypt’s total planted area.
Potatoes are the second most important vegetable after tomatoes. Medium and large
farms focus on the cultivation of horticultural crops instead of field crops, whereas
the small-scale farmers focus more on field crops.
Furthermore, traditional farming systems such as those employed by small-scale
farmers are typically mixed and integrated crop-livestock systems. In 2010, 68.5%