The study, prepared by Dutch firms Delphy and The Salt Doctors for the Netherlands embassy in Cairo and the Netherlands Food Partnership, identified four main causes of salinity: irrigation-driven salinity in the central and southern Nile Delta, drainage and groundwater-driven salinity in the northern Delta, coastal and climate-related salinity along the Delta’s Mediterranean coast, and natural geogenic salinity in oases and desert areas.
These problems are being worsened by climate change, including sea-level rise and higher evaporation rates.
Despite ongoing investments in land reclamation and drainage, the report said fragmented efforts, weak coordination, and limited monitoring continue to hinder progress, undermining Egypt’s goal of building a high-productivity, export-oriented, and environmentally sustainable agricultural sector.
Economic impacts and benefits
The report found that salinity reduces crop yields by 10–40 percent, but targeted measures can significantly limit these losses. Rehabilitating drainage systems can increase cotton, wheat, and rice production by 15–30 percent and prevent yield losses of 10–20 percent.
Growing salt-tolerant crops can reduce losses by 20–40 percent or boost potato revenues by up to 88 percent, while integrated intervention programmes can raise farm incomes by 15–35 percent. Addressing salinity would also protect infrastructure, improve competitiveness, and support Egypt’s Vision 2030 development goals, the report said.
The study proposed a five-pillar strategy focusing on improved drainage management, modernized irrigation and leaching practices, better soil management and agronomy, crop diversification and protected agriculture, and stronger monitoring and policy coordination.
Implementation would rely on public-private partnerships, incentives, and phased execution from 2026 to 2035, starting with mapping and diagnostics (2026-27), followed by integrated interventions (2027-29), monitoring systems (2029-31), market incentives (2031-33), and institutional reforms.
Bottlenecks and Dutch expertise
Key hurdles include drainage decay, unregulated water reuse, high capex, fragmented mandates, and extension gaps. Solutions span PPPs, credit/blended finance, and a National Salinity Observatory.
The report highlighted Dutch expertise in delta management, drainage systems, and saline agriculture technologies as key to supporting diagnostics, pilot projects, and large-scale implementation, including through initiatives such as Pro-Sal-HYDRO and the EU-funded SALAD project.
Turning challenges into growth
“Our Salinity Roadmap is a direct response to Egypt’s new economic narrative, creating a Dutch ‘diamond model’ in which the private sector, research institutions, and government work together to turn agricultural challenges into economic growth. By aligning Dutch expertise in water-smart agriculture with Egypt’s strategic goals, we are not only addressing soil salinity, but also building a resilient, export-oriented agricultural sector that enables the private sector to lead growth while working closely with research institutions,” Omar Abdellatif, Agricultural Advisor of the Netherlands Embassy at Cairo, told Ahram Online.
Tycho Vermeulen, agricultural counsellor to Egypt and Jordan, said Dutch-Egyptian cooperation in agriculture has a long history.
“Some business relationships were established more than 40 years ago and remain strong. The Netherlands has also worked with Egypt for over 50 years in water management, infrastructure, and planning,” she said.
Vermeulen noted that Egypt is expanding both agricultural production and related infrastructure, creating opportunities for cooperation, knowledge exchange, and deeper ties in government, trade, and investment.
“Current trade figures show Egyptian exports to the Netherlands of around $500 million and imports of about $350 million, according to FAO data for 2023. These figures are likely to increase given the large expansions in Egypt in recent years,” she said.
Key areas of cooperation include vegetable and potato seeds, fruit and vegetable production, water-use efficiency, salinity management, education, and capacity building for farmers and officials, Vermeulen stated.
With salinity affecting 30–35 percent of irrigated land amid rising climate pressures, the report aligns proposed solutions with Egypt’s new economic narrative. This strategy prioritizes agriculture as one of five key sectors through 2030, aiming to protect reclamation investments, boost exports, and sustain employment for one-fifth of the workforce through public-private projects and a National Salinity Observatory.
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