She Feeds the World (SFtW) Water Baseline Report on Crops in Targeted Villages Samalout District, Menia governorate,

July 2020

Report Generated by:

Dr. Mansour Abdel Rasoul Mohamed

Consultant on Water Resources Management Engineering

Introduction

CARE International – Egypt is implementing the "She Feeds the World" (SFiW) project with funding funded by PepsiCo Foundation . The project’s, with the main objective of improving the health and nutrition status of 10,000 women small-scale farmers and theirtheir families. Targeting women of reproductive age from 18 to 49 and children under the age of two in the governorates of , Beheira, Minya and SFtW will be operational between March 2019 to June 2020. Through SFtW, women and their households will gain access to productive resources, assets, support, information and the confidence they need to improve theirs and their communities’ livelihoods and nutritional outcomes. In relation to this, quality food production and income generation efforts will be boosted to enable women and men to feed their families more nutritious meals, build savings, grow their businesses, and ultimately improve their health and nutritional wellbeing.

SFtW is set to achieve the following four project objectives

- The project specifically seeks to impactyears of age, , through the following:Improving access to healthy and nutritious food for farmers and community members, focusing on improving nutrition for children and women of childbearing age. - Improving the production of agricultural crops by giving small-scale farmers access to necessary resources - Providing technical support to improve marketing and uptake of sound agricultural practices. - Improving market linkages and strengthening cooperation between the private sector and government to achieve food security. - Providing proper nutrition and positive impact on public health. - Raising awareness, promoting and enabling water conservation among small-scale farmers in Minya

The SFtW planned water-smart agriculture intervention includes training of small-scale farmers (with preference for farmers) through farmer field business schools (FFBS) and awareness-raising campaigns, aimed to increase irrigation practices, water conservation, as well as climate-smart practices to ensure long-term sustainability of farmers’ lands. CARE is also working with the department of agriculture, the department of irrigation, as well as community-based organizations and farmers directly to improve irrigation water governance in target communities.

To achieve the water-mart agriculture goals in , the project management hired an Irrigation Consultant and under the donor (PepsiCo) guidance identified a package of technical support activities to reach the desired goal, which is to increase agricultural productivity per feddan in the targeted areas and replenish 110 million liters of water to the Minya watershed through preservation per year. Small-scale farmers, specifically women, will be targeted to participate, and receive technical support, training and institutional support from She Feeds the World. to achieve this water replenishment goal.

The goal of this water use assessment is to provide evidence on study describes crops grown in the targeted areas in Samalout district as it relates to the amount of water consumed in irrigation throughout the year for winter and summer crops. This data is intended to inform the project’s Water

Replenishment Strategy, and specific targets in improving irrigation efficiency, and preserving soil moisture.

General description of the project geographical location: -

Minya Governorate is one of the governorates of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and is considered the bride of , and is characterized by being an agricultural governorate, 75% of its 6 million people working in agriculture (4.5 Million). The total area of irrigation and drainage is about 550 thousand feddans, all of which are irrigated from Al-Ibrahimia and Bahr Yusef canals through a group of sub- canals, distribution and special canals.

Like the rest of upper Egypt governorates, Minya Governorate has a desert border from the west side, covering an area of about 150 thousands Feddans, with new and validated area for agriculture that has been recently reclaimed from the western and eastern sides of the governorate, located between the governorate of Assiut from the south, and from the north.

The project area is located in the district of Samalout, located in the north of Minya governorate, approximately 20 km from the city of Minya. The population of Samalout district is approximately 851,251 people, in which 48% are women. It consists of 9 main villages and overall includes 45 sub- villages, and 341 manor and mini villages, and the total seized district reign is actually 54,621 Feddans.

The target area of this intervention is located on the western side of district, which is far from Samalout by 18 KM, and its cultivated area covers about 25,000 Feddans, and 7 agricultural cooperatives from a total 52 agriculture cooperatives in Samalout only. The smallholders and small-scale producers (Who have less than 3 Feddans) are 1180 farmers in which at least 48% are women, cultivating a total of 90% from the targeted area.

Bird Eye view for Menia, Egypt

The subject of this assessment - Assess the crops grown in the targeted areas in Samalout district and the amount of irrigation water consumed in crops throughout the year (winter and summer crops).

Objective of the study: -

This assessment aims to determine the current status of agricultural activity in the villages targeted for the project, and this will be done by identifying the cropping pattern and the amount of irrigation consumed by these crops throughout the calendar year in summer and winter seasons, as well as identifying the problems facing small-scale farmers and negatively affecting productivity.

Target area of the assessment: -

Through coordination with the management of the Ayesin Well project, this assessment was implemented in seven villages in The Samalout district: Al-Azama, Abu Sidham, Delaq Ghor, Shusha, Taybeh, Rubi and Hassan Ibrahim.

Duration of application of the assessment: -

The study was implemented for 15 days from 8/6/2020 to 15/7/2020

Methodology of the assessment:

Methodology of the assessment included: • Review of relevant project documents, progress reports and communication channels between different regional and local stakeholders • Meetings with: o the SFtW project team and the Pepsico Egypt teams in and in in Minya governorate o relevant government agencies (irrigation - agriculture) and o members of the boards of NGOs / boards of administrations of agricultural and water associations, o Agriculture Extension staff Key informant interviews with a sample of a total number of 60 participants

Tools and methods applied in the field phase (1) Individual interviews with key stakeholders and the sample of selected beneficiaries, (2) Focus Group Discussions Focus Group Discussions (3) Relevant evaluation question form group discussion (Annex 1) (4) Ad hoc meetings with other stakeholders in the community (non-beneficiaries, etc.)

Based on meetings and documents collected, this report describes: (1) Relevant challenges facing beneficiaries/small-scale farmers (2) The crop composition of the summer and winter seasons in the targeted areas. (3) The amount of water available for irrigation in the targeted areas in summer and winter and comparing it to the optimal water needs of cultivated crops Baseline assessment tasks were accomplished as follows: • Identification of study samples

This assessment considered the identification of a random sample of the target groups:

25 small farmers: they represent the villages of the targeted areas, the agricultural ponds, the different issues and the quality of the soil, and the extent of their proximity and distance from the source of irrigation water (front, middle or at the end of the canal), and their cultivation of different crops in their water needs and agricultural practices.

7 groups of members of agricultural associations: represent the board of directors of the association and the technical staff of the association who have leadership attributes, experience, knowledge of the problems of the region, and the ability to understand and analyze them (Annex 5, 6)

The members of the government partners are represented by the undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Irrigation, the director general of agricultural affairs, and the director of the agricultural department of The Samalout district.

• Data collection

- The data was collected by designing a questionnaire with a set of questions to feed the purpose of this study. - A team of experienced data collectors with members of rural communities and from an agricultural background were selected to understand the language of farmers and behaviors, in addition to their understanding of the observance and analytical outlook. - Local leaders with the confidence of community members have been called as sources of information to ensure the quality of data and to facilitate the task of data collectors.

• Results:

First: General and topographical characteristics of the project area: - - From the initial inspection of the study area shows that the soil prevailing in it is the sandy silt soil and the slope of the land generally tends to the north as well as there is a slope from east to west, i.e. from the Sea of Yusuf to the road.

Second: Distribution of irrigation water within agricultural land: -

• The needed irrigation water reaches the land of the target area of the project through a major canal in Minya, named The Sea of Yusuf (locked from kilo 90 to kilo 110), and Monsha’t Canal (locking from kilo 30 to 55 kilos), and the Tarfa canal in its entire length.

• Irrigation between farmers iscarried out through special water canals through the quantities of water discharged through irrigation vents calculated by irrigation departments and according to the winter and summer crops composition in Minya.

• The irrigation flow of the special canals and waterways does not exceed 20 cubic meters per Feddan in winter, and 25 cubic meters per Feddan in summer depending on the actual quantities of irrigation water available. • The design aspect of the sub-canals and the special canals were designed to contain the maximum amount of water flow, according to the designs of the development sector of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, is 30 cubic meters per Feddan per day. In order to accommodate any amounts of irrigation water at anytime without any change or redesign of the canals and sub-canals. • Most of the fields are irrigated using direct surface irrigation on a triple irrigation shifts. • The canals passing through many villages, houses, and hamlets inside residential areas, and the canals are exposed to waste dumping and pollution of irrigation water.

Table of irrigation sources for targeted areas

M The name Source of public Sub-irrigation source Irrigation of the irrigation Engineering association

1 Alazima The main tip canal of Branches of 3:7 Tarfa West Tarfa the Sea of Yusef Irrigation

2 Delqame Monsha’t Al-Dahab Delqam Branch - Al- East Tarfa West Canal Aqola Branch - Abu Irrigation Sidham Branch

3 Abu Sidham Monsha’t Al-Dahab Branches of Com Al East Tarfa Canal Raheb, Abu Sidham, Al- Irrigation Aqola, Farajallah, Al Omda, and Ismail

4 Shosha Monsha’t Al-Dahab Branches of Shusha, East Tarfa Canal Bahnsa, Al awqaf, Irrigation Taybeh, Badini East Of Al- Qamadair Irrigation

5 Altiba Monsha’t Al-Dahab The Canal of Dawod Yusf East Al-Qamadair Canal and its branches (1, 2, 3 Dawod) - Branches of Irrigation Shari'i, Taybeh and Waqf

6 Ruby Monsha’t Al-Dahab Kom Al Raheb Canal - Al- East Tarfa Canal Aqola Branch - Nasser Irrigation Branch

7 Hassan Monsha’t Al-Dahab Kom Al Raheb Canal - Al- East Tarfa Ibrahim Canal Aqola Branch - Nasser Irrigation Branch

Third: Available amounts of irrigation water:

Crop Local Alfalfa Sugar Wheat Onion Corn Sesame Soy Sunflower Fava bean Hijazi Beet

Amount of irrigation water 2600 1900 3000 2200 3000 8200 3200 2300 2300 2400 consumed(M3/season)

Fourth: Crop composition: - - Crops and cultivated area - An area of about 25,000 feddans has been allocated as an area of agricultural land in the study area, and the following table shows the distribution of the areas cultivated in the area.

Crops schedule and area planted in the targeted villages

Winter season Summer Season

Crop Percentage (feddan) Percentage (feddan)

Wheat 50.86 12928 - -

Alfa Alfa 14.64 3722 6.5 1650

Medical and aromatic crops 11.75 2986 20.47 5200

Onion 7.87 2000 - -

Shami corn - - 19.1 4851

Thin corn - - 6.38 1621

Beans, tomatoes and vegetables 5.78 1469 14.96 3799

Gardens 6.7 1703

Potato 1.28 325 - -

Beet 0.57 146 - -

other 0.55 139 1.1 280

Oil crops - - 31.49 7998

Total for one season 100 25418 100 25399

Winter crops and the size of land disaggregated by village Delqam Hassan Village Name Al-Azima Abu Sidham Shosha Altiba Ruby West Ibrahim

Crop K1 F2 K F K F K F K F K F K F

Wheat -- 8250 15 203 19 420 20 965 21 1605 8 875 15 605

Alfaalfa -- 1950 22 600 8 80 12 570 15 360 20 81 17 76

My Bean -- -- 13 2 -- -- 4 -- 17 101 11 3 -- --

Medical and -- 2040 3 263 16 45 4 99 19 338 16 198 11 14 aromatic

Garlic ------11 8 11 8 16 34 14 2 -- --

Assorted -- 200 ------19 3 -- -- 16 11 vegetables

Potato -- 70 ------1 40 7 44 8 124 13 46

Beet -- 95 -- -- 12 2 16 17 -- 7 1 22 1

Homs ------12 1 ------9 2

Onion -- 2000 ------

Beans -- 75 ------

Cane -- 10 ------

Gardens -- 1703 ------

Tomato -- 1150 ------

1 Kirat 2 Feddan “Feddan = 24 Kirat”

Summer crops and the size of land disaggregated by village

Delqame Hassan Village Al azima Abu Sidham Shosha Altiba Ruby West Ibrahim

Crop / Land size K F K F K F K F K F K F K F

Sesame -- 3150 17 127 -- 150 -- 150 20 446 13 140 -- --

Peanuts -- 2750 ------50 2 467 10 90 10 26

Tomato -- 1650 ------

White corn -- 280 ------

50 Shami corn -- 950 14 300 -- 400 -- 800 2 1114 7 787 -- 0

14 Thin corn -- 140 -- 140 -- 126 -- 325 -- 400 -- 350 -- 0

Assorted ------2000 -- 50 -- 6 1 26 3 26 8 41 vegetables

------Basil -- 1750 -- --

------Bardadosh -- 3450 -- --

------Alfa Alfa Hijazi -- 1650 -- --

-- -- Soy Bean -- -- 22 42 4 37 -- 300 11 52 1 18

Fifth: Problems facing farmers in the targeted areas: Agricultural problems: 1. Lack of proper agricultural systems and practices. 2. Lack of good sources or resources orf nutrient crops. 3. Poor agricultural extension service/awareness programs. 4. The farmer does not know the appropriate marketing sources. 5. The absence of the role of the Agricultural Association for contracts and the provision of production supplies. 6. Weak sources of funding. 7. High costs of all agricultural operations. 8. Negative change of daily routine for farmers.

Irrigation and drainage problems: 1. Not enough water to reach the ends of the canal and the course in time. 2. The ends of the canals are not properly designed which allows drainage. 3. Water lost and wasted in banks due to farmers' reluctance to irrigate the night. 4. Farmers doesn’t maintain the special canals. 5. Lack of justice in the distribution of water at the level of the network. 6. Farmers' encroachments on waterways and canals by force. 7. Relying on the distribution of water to the levels only without considering the drainage.

Recommendations

In light of the interviews that were carried out during the study period, the data collected and analyzed, and the team's observations during field visits, we therefore recommend: • The implementation of the project activities (Covering the water canal with cement, apply modern irrigation methods, such as; drip irrigation, water spray, etc…) is intensified in the village no. 3 (Al-Azima Agricultural Association) and the village of Shusha and its followers (Rubi- Hassan Ibrahim). (Covering the water canal with cement, apply modern irrigation methods, such as; drip irrigation, water spray, etc…) • Following the timetable for the advisory mission for the preparation and training of government extensions and capacity building program for agriculture and irrigation. • The need to form associations for water users on the targeted canals so as to encourage the participation and management of irrigation operations and community participation in maintenance work. • Issuing a guide to managing the efficient use of irrigation water suitable for small-scale farmers • Working closely with agricultural associations to begin preparing initial database for the targeted farmers (1,000 farmers). • Planning to participate in the preparation of awareness campaigns. • Encouraging women participation, and promoting their rights in joining and participate in the election of the water association groups.