Crops Intensification to Reduce Wheat Gap in Egypt

• Published in: Future of Food Gaps in Egypt pp. 37 - 56
• Main Authors: Ouda, Samiha A. H, Alkitkat, Huda, Sayad, Tarek, Morsy, Mostafa, Zohry, Abd El-Hafeez, Kamel, Ahmed
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Springer International Publishing AG 2016; Springer International Publishing
• Series: SpringerBriefs in Agriculture
• Subjects: Agricultural science; Cotton and sugarcane; Management of land & natural resources; Raised beds cultivation; Sprinkler system; Sugar beet; Water supply & treatment; Wheat intercropped with tomato; Wheat intercropping under fruit trees
• ISBN: 331946941X; 9783319469416
• ISSN: 2211-808X; 2211-8098
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46942-3_4

There is a gap between production and consumption of wheat in Egypt and it is compensated by importation, which put a burden on the country’s budget. The current wheat gap is 49 % and it could be reduced to 32 % if we change wheat cultivation from basins to raised beds, where more lands can be cultivated with the same applied amount of water. Similarly, if we change the irrigation system nationally from surface to sprinkler, wheat gap will be 28 %. Furthermore, intercropping wheat with tomato, sugar beet, cotton, sugarcane and under fruit trees can add an extra amount of wheat grains. Adding this amount with the production under raised beds or irrigation with sprinkler, the gap will be lower, i.e. 23 or 19 %, respectively. Under climate change in 2030, wheat gap will be 63 %. Cultivation of wheat on raised beds and irrigating wheat with sprinkler will reduce the gap to be 55 and 44 %, respectively. Implementing intercropping with raised beds or irrigation with sprinkler will reduce the gap to be lower, i.e. 49 or 38 %, respectively. Thus, opportunities exist to solve wheat production-consumption gap and we should take advantage of it.