Water footprint of Egyptian crops and its economics

Egypt lies in a dry region of the world. The management of water resources in dry areas is necessary to maintain the limited quantities of water available and to achieve an appropriate level of development, food security and stability. The current study aims to estimate the water footprint (WF) of Egyptian crops in the old and new lands inside and outside the Nile Valley and Delta. In addition, comparison of the WF of Egyptian crops with the global WF, and calculating the economics of the green and blue WF of Egyptian crops. Methodology of assessment was adopted from the water footprint assessment manual. Meteorological data during the study period were obtained from the weather station at Agricultural Research Center, and from Egyptian Meteorological Authority. Data of crop productivity were obtained from the Economic Affairs Sector-Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. The results showed that the contribution of green water to the total water footprint of Egyptian crops was small compared to blue water. Average total green plus blue water footprint (WFgreen+blue) of Egyptian crops was about 680 m3/ton. Egyptian crops recorded low WF values compared to the average global WF. In addition, average net return of the WFgreen+blue of Egyptian crops amounted to 10.25, 5.23 and 5.00 LE/m3 for winter field crops and vegetables, summer field crops and vegetables, Nili and perennial crops, respectively.