Egyptian farmers in Sohag complaining that their banana crops were destroyed due to water shortage - Egypt Today/Mahmoud MaqboulMain irrigation canals have been filled with grass- Egypt Today/Mahmoud MaqboulCAIRO – 23 September 2018: Some farmers voiced their concerns over water shortage in irrigation canals in Delta and Upper Egypt as it can damage their crops, amid water scarcity the country suffers from.In Upper Egypt’s Sohag, banana crops were destroyed as the main irrigation canals have been filled with water hyacinth for more than 12 years, complained Mansour Salman, an owner of a banana farm.Standing on the irrigation canal, Salman told Egypt Today that the canal has been completely neglected. It should irrigate more than 2,000 acres in Dar el-Salam village, but the water is mostly consumed by water hyacinth, he said.Banana plants are almost dead as they should be irrigated every 10 days, but water flows every 45 days and the cultivation began to weaken significantly, said Abdullah al-Salmy, another farmer.Small farmers complained about water shortage in their new agricultural startups. In Wadi al-Noqra village, in Aswan's Nasr al-Nuba city, a group of youth demanded getting the water needed for cultivating their lands, reported Al-Gedaan talk show on Al-Kahera wal Nas TV channel. “Egypt is working on providing a strong infrastructure to address these risks,” Abdel Ati added.Egypt suffers from an annual 21 billion cubic meters gap between water consumption and production. The tributary feeds 80 percent of the Nile’s water to downstream states.

Source: Egypt Today September 23, 2018 10:41 UTC