Egypt decreases areas for rice cultivation amid fears of water scarcity

Egypt is planning to dramatically decrease the amount of land allocated to rice production next year, amid ongoing concerns over water scarcity, the Irrigation Ministry announced on Sunday 23 October 2016 .

The amount of land used for rice will decrease by 34.6 percent, according to the Ministry, and will be limited to six governorates. This amounts to just over 704,000 feddans for 2017, in comparison to over a million feddans in 2016.

The cultivation of rice requires more water than many other crops, an average of 9,500 to 11,000 cubic meters of water per hectare.

There will be penalties introduced for the planting of rice on any non-authorized land or in governorates outside Beheira, Kafr al-Sheikh, Daqahlia, Damietta, Port Said and Sharqiya, the Ministry said.

Rice prices have increased dramatically in recent months, as supplies havedwindled and the value of the pound has dropped. In March, traders reported prices had increased by as much as 20 percent, blaming the Supply Ministry for not planning ahead.