This document summarizes a case study of an integrated crop-irrigation technology project scaled out in Egypt and Sudan. The project focused on sustainably increasing productivity of rainfed and irrigated agriculture through improved cultivars, agronomy practices, and optimum inputs. In Egypt, interventions included early maturing varieties, efficient water use cultivars, intercropping, fertilizers, and raised bed mechanization for wheat. Repeated field days and media involvement helped transfer these technologies to hundreds of farmers. Surveys found Egyptian farmers adopting raised bed technology used less seed and water but increased wheat yields by up to 24%, improving incomes. In Sudan, farmers experienced climate challenges and obtained a 144% increase in wheat yields with the

1. Case Study:
Integrated crop-irrigation technology packages
scaled out and widely adopted in Egypt and Sudan
Fawzi Karajeh and Atef Swelam
Integrated Water and Land Management Program,
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA),
Cairo- Egypt
f.Karajeh@cgiar.org
TS-6: Making research and science reach farmers and end users
FAO’s Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa
13-18 December
Amman-Jordan

2. Project Focus
Sustainable increased
productivity of both rainfed and
irrigated agriculture – producing
'more crop per drop.‘
Integrated crop-livestock
management – more added
value
'more income for better
livelihood.‘
Rural communities existence
'more resilience to climate
variability and change.‘
Criteria
Improved Cultivars
Improved agronomy practices
Optimum levels of inputs- Water +
Value chains; Crop-livestock integration
Improved farmers income

3.
Yield
20
%
Farmers income
Water Productivity
Project Target Indicators- Irrigated Agriculture

4. The intervention sites
Egypt: Assiut and El-Sharqia Governorates
Sudan: Lower Atbara River region of the River Nile
State

5. Egypt Field Interventions
•
•
•
•
•
•
Early maturing varieties
Efficient water use cultivars
Intercropping systems
Crop health: chemical/ organic fertilizers
Improved management practices- Agronomy
Use of raisedbed mechanization-on wheat

6. The approaches for technology transfer and scaling-up
(1)
Repeated field days approach.
Hundred of farmers, extension agents from neighboring
villages, researchers, developers, service providers and local
media and involved them in the assessment of the results
and in discussions on the way forward for technology
dissemination and scaling-up.

7. The approaches for technology transfer and scaling-up
(2)

8. Successful Case Study in Egypt (1)
At farm level in Egypt
• Raisedbed technology used 50% less wheat seed.
• An average of 25% less water application, with an
increased wheat yield of up to 24%.
• Increasing farmers’ incomes and improved their
livelihoods.

9. Successful Case Study in Egypt (1)
In a survey conducted during the 2011/12 crop season by
the Agriculture Research Center-Egypt for 382 farmers in 12
Governorates in Delta and upper Egypt (191 farmers with
direct extension managed fields (EMF), and 191 neighboring
farmers – farmers managed fields (FMF)) adopted the
recommended wide-raisedbed package, 85.9% of EMF and
51.8% FMF reported their high satisfaction from using the
technology; while 2.6% of EMF and 24.1% of FMF were
unsatisfied with the adoption. The high satisfactory is due
mainly to an average increase in yield and reduction in
production costs.

10. The Case study and the media- Egypt

11. Sudan -1Farmers are exposed:
Climate change- season variability of surface water from
Atbara river
limited groundwater resources,
poor irrigation efficiency,
low agriculture productivity,
wind erosion,
and depleting pastoral resources.


12. Sudan -2Farmers obtained an increased in wheat
yield by 144% with the same amount of
applied irrigation water at the reference site.

13. Thank you