166
E. Iwasaki and K. Kashiwagi
investment wells and surface springs. Dates are generally produced on land attached
to local and investment wells. However, the land attached to government wells does
not have palm trees. On such land, the main crops are rice and sorghum in summer,
and wheat and Egyptian clover in winter, whereas alfalfa is a perennial crop.
These crops are also cultivated on land attached to investment wells. In addition,
vegetables, such as fava beans (ful), onions and cow-peas (lubiya), are grown there
in winter.
2.3 Crop Rotation in the Government Well Irrigation
Districts 7
The major reason for the different crops on the land attached to government wells
and other wells is that crops from government wells are managed by an agronomist
attached to the agricultural cooperative. Each year a meeting with agronomists is
held to decide which crops to cultivate. Under the supervision of the agricultural
cooperative, the farmers of the government well cultivate the same crops under a
crop rotation system. This is a system that has generally been used in the Nile basin,
especially when rice cultivation was controlled by the government until the 1990s.
According to this system, farmers hold three plots each in different subdistricts.
Because rice cultivation requires permanent irrigation, and water flows for other
crops must be controlled to avoid the overuse of water, crop rotation is necessary.
The kinds of crops and their rotations are decided by the Directorate of the Ministry
of Agriculture. One of the three subdistricts must cultivate alfalfa for three years,
whereas two subdistricts participate in crop rotation as in Table 2. For this reason,
crops are rotated between subdistricts every three years and six months.
As Hansen (1975: 151) explains, crop rotation in the Nile basin is intended to
combine the advantages of private ownership and small farmers’ initiatives with
economies of scale in irrigation, soil preparation, financing, and trading, and the
system gives individual farmers land in different parts of the area under common
rotation. The three-year rotation system thus implies that farmers should be given
land in three different places, each with a different crop.
In this way, large areas can be grown with the same crop, whereas the individual
small farmer on his three plots of land applies the same rotation that he would
apply individually and will always have a food crop for his family, a feed crop for
buffalos, and a cash crop for his expenses. Soil preparation, including ploughing and
irrigation, may become more rational, taking advantage of economies of scale in these
processes. Mechanization becomes possible, whereas seeding, weeding, fertilizing,
and harvesting are left to the individual owner. Seeds and fertilizers are provided by
the agricultural cooperative (Hansen 1975: 150).
7 This section is based on Kato and Iwasaki (2016: 214).
E. Iwasaki and K. Kashiwagi
investment wells and surface springs. Dates are generally produced on land attached
to local and investment wells. However, the land attached to government wells does
not have palm trees. On such land, the main crops are rice and sorghum in summer,
and wheat and Egyptian clover in winter, whereas alfalfa is a perennial crop.
These crops are also cultivated on land attached to investment wells. In addition,
vegetables, such as fava beans (ful), onions and cow-peas (lubiya), are grown there
in winter.
2.3 Crop Rotation in the Government Well Irrigation
Districts 7
The major reason for the different crops on the land attached to government wells
and other wells is that crops from government wells are managed by an agronomist
attached to the agricultural cooperative. Each year a meeting with agronomists is
held to decide which crops to cultivate. Under the supervision of the agricultural
cooperative, the farmers of the government well cultivate the same crops under a
crop rotation system. This is a system that has generally been used in the Nile basin,
especially when rice cultivation was controlled by the government until the 1990s.
According to this system, farmers hold three plots each in different subdistricts.
Because rice cultivation requires permanent irrigation, and water flows for other
crops must be controlled to avoid the overuse of water, crop rotation is necessary.
The kinds of crops and their rotations are decided by the Directorate of the Ministry
of Agriculture. One of the three subdistricts must cultivate alfalfa for three years,
whereas two subdistricts participate in crop rotation as in Table 2. For this reason,
crops are rotated between subdistricts every three years and six months.
As Hansen (1975: 151) explains, crop rotation in the Nile basin is intended to
combine the advantages of private ownership and small farmers’ initiatives with
economies of scale in irrigation, soil preparation, financing, and trading, and the
system gives individual farmers land in different parts of the area under common
rotation. The three-year rotation system thus implies that farmers should be given
land in three different places, each with a different crop.
In this way, large areas can be grown with the same crop, whereas the individual
small farmer on his three plots of land applies the same rotation that he would
apply individually and will always have a food crop for his family, a feed crop for
buffalos, and a cash crop for his expenses. Soil preparation, including ploughing and
irrigation, may become more rational, taking advantage of economies of scale in these
processes. Mechanization becomes possible, whereas seeding, weeding, fertilizing,
and harvesting are left to the individual owner. Seeds and fertilizers are provided by
the agricultural cooperative (Hansen 1975: 150).
7 This section is based on Kato and Iwasaki (2016: 214).