Egypt suffers from water shortage. Rainfall is very low, and it is irregular and unpredictable. The
available water from the Nile River is limited (55.5 BCM/yr). Because the irrigation water is the most
important input for crops production; the irrigation water shortage affects strongly both the productivity
and profitability of the main winter crops in Egypt. This study tries to evaluate the impacts of irrigation
water shortage, and examine the utilization of different inputs including irrigation water on production
of the main winter crops in both Upper and Northern Egypt.
The study found that the irrigation water shortage is more serious in Northern Egypt compared with
Upper Egypt. Wheat, clover tahreesh, and broad bean cultivated in the mentioned regions have higher
elasticity in irrigation water input in Northern Egypt (up to 0.67) compared with Upper Egypt. The
study put a potential policy to improve the productivity and profitability of the main winter crops through
an appropriate irrigation water investment in the two regions.
Key words: winter crops, water shortage, irrigation, farm management, sustainable rural development,
Egypt.