Climate Change, Agriculture and Rural Communities’ …
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The assessments are mainly based on the ‘Population, housing and establishment
census of 2017’ [11] for population-related data, and on the ‘Annual bulletin of the
agricultural cooperatives’ activities of 2015/2016’ [12] for agricultural land area and
number of landownerships data. For data on agricultural field crops (the focus of
this chapter), the ‘Annual bulletin of statistical crop area and plant production of
2014/2015’ is used [13]. In addition to climate change-related literature, such as the
‘Proposed climate change adaptation strategy for the ministry of water resources and
irrigation in Egypt’ [9] and the ‘Potential impacts of climate change on the Egyptian
economy’ report [7].
The impacts of the socio-economic challenges in the Nile Delta governorates by
2030, are assessed by extrapolating available statistics on rural population growth,
agricultural land fragmentation and urban expansion on agricultural land. For the
determination of the climate change stimuli impacts on agriculture in the Nile Delta
governorates and the identification of farmers’ vulnerability in 2030, the vulnerability
assessment framework (VAF) is applied. The VAF is an important tool for supporting
policy makers in formulating necessary strategies of climate change adaptation for the
enhancement of the adaptive capacities of local farming communities by improving
awareness of the causes and the implications of vulnerability [14, 15].
The framework considers the exposure and sensitivity of agriculture and farmers to
the climate change stimuli, and their local adaptive capacities [16] that are necessary
for coping with climate change adverse impacts on farmers’ livelihoods [16, 17]. For
the exploration of the adaptive capacities of farmers the livelihood assets—defined
by the sustainable livelihood framework—are used. These are composed of human,
social, natural, physical, and financial assets. Assets influence farmers’ vulnerability
and determine how they would deal with the negative impacts of climate change
[18, 19]. The chosen indicators for the determination of farmers’ adaptive capacities
vis-à-vis climate change stimuli in the Nile Delta governorates are concerned with
farmers’ awareness of climate change hazards and their ability to decide on choosing
the suitable adaptation measure [20]. These indicators include farmers’ experience,
age, access to agricultural information and their level of education, and access to
funding [17].
2 Agriculture and Its Challenges in Egypt
The Nile Delta is central for the production of field crops’ and the provision of agricultural employment in Egypt. However, there are present challenges that negatively
affect agriculture. The agricultural importance of the Nile Delta and the countered
challenges are introduced in this section.
527
The assessments are mainly based on the ‘Population, housing and establishment
census of 2017’ [11] for population-related data, and on the ‘Annual bulletin of the
agricultural cooperatives’ activities of 2015/2016’ [12] for agricultural land area and
number of landownerships data. For data on agricultural field crops (the focus of
this chapter), the ‘Annual bulletin of statistical crop area and plant production of
2014/2015’ is used [13]. In addition to climate change-related literature, such as the
‘Proposed climate change adaptation strategy for the ministry of water resources and
irrigation in Egypt’ [9] and the ‘Potential impacts of climate change on the Egyptian
economy’ report [7].
The impacts of the socio-economic challenges in the Nile Delta governorates by
2030, are assessed by extrapolating available statistics on rural population growth,
agricultural land fragmentation and urban expansion on agricultural land. For the
determination of the climate change stimuli impacts on agriculture in the Nile Delta
governorates and the identification of farmers’ vulnerability in 2030, the vulnerability
assessment framework (VAF) is applied. The VAF is an important tool for supporting
policy makers in formulating necessary strategies of climate change adaptation for the
enhancement of the adaptive capacities of local farming communities by improving
awareness of the causes and the implications of vulnerability [14, 15].
The framework considers the exposure and sensitivity of agriculture and farmers to
the climate change stimuli, and their local adaptive capacities [16] that are necessary
for coping with climate change adverse impacts on farmers’ livelihoods [16, 17]. For
the exploration of the adaptive capacities of farmers the livelihood assets—defined
by the sustainable livelihood framework—are used. These are composed of human,
social, natural, physical, and financial assets. Assets influence farmers’ vulnerability
and determine how they would deal with the negative impacts of climate change
[18, 19]. The chosen indicators for the determination of farmers’ adaptive capacities
vis-à-vis climate change stimuli in the Nile Delta governorates are concerned with
farmers’ awareness of climate change hazards and their ability to decide on choosing
the suitable adaptation measure [20]. These indicators include farmers’ experience,
age, access to agricultural information and their level of education, and access to
funding [17].
2 Agriculture and Its Challenges in Egypt
The Nile Delta is central for the production of field crops’ and the provision of agricultural employment in Egypt. However, there are present challenges that negatively
affect agriculture. The agricultural importance of the Nile Delta and the countered
challenges are introduced in this section.