Innovative approaches to agriculture in water-scarce areas: Lessons from Cairo/Africa Water Week
How to feed the world in a healthy, fair and sustainable way? And how to do this in the world’s most water-scarce areas, not only dealing with lack of water, but also related issues such as pollution and saltwater intrusion of groundwater?
Two projects under the Water and Development Partnership Programme are yielding promising results in the areas of treated wastewater reuse for irrigated agriculture and the sustainable, equitable development of groundwater resources.
The four-year projects, each midway through their execution, were presented during the "Innovative Approaches towards Water Resource Challenges in Agriculture" session at the seventh Cairo Water Week and ninth Africa Water Week conducted in parallel in Cairo, Egypt in October 2024.
A common pattern
Both projects face a shared challenge: solving one problem often leads to another, a common pattern in water-related issues. For instance, groundwater extraction can lead to saltwater intrusion in aquifers, reducing water quality for irrigation and increasing reliance on other already scarce freshwater sources.
While alternative approaches like treated wastewater reuse can alleviate pressure on groundwater extraction, there is a risk of polluting aquifers or soil salinization, if poorly managed, potentially causing more long-term harm.
Water shortages are an issue of growing worldwide concern. Irrigated agriculture accounts for about 70% of total freshwater withdrawals globally, therefore alternatives to the use of conventional sources need to be investigated.
Reuse of nutrient-rich treated wastewater
SafeAgroMENA deals with the reuse of nutrient-rich treated wastewater for food self-sufficiency in the Middle East and Northe Africa (MENA) region.
Project leader Hadeel Hosney, Lecturer in Wastewater Treatment for Reuse in Industry and Agriculture at IHE Delft, opened the session by outlining the need for innovation to address the dire water situation. “Water shortages are an issue of growing worldwide concern. Irrigated agriculture accounts for about 70% of total freshwater withdrawals globally, therefore alternatives to the use of conventional sources need to be investigated.”
The project is being implemented in three countries: Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. Describing how wastewater is treated and reused starting at As-Samra wastewater treatment plant, director of project partner Water, Environment and Climate Change Centre in Jordan, Almoayied Assayed said: “First, we focused on understanding the current situation from both technical and social perspectives.”
The water is monitored for pollutants like viruses, pesticides, and pharmaceutical residues by collecting various samples of water, soil and plants from farms in the central Jordan Valley, where the reclaimed water is used for irrigation indirectly, and in the Zarqa River, which connects the treatment plant to the agricultural areas.
Studies were also conducted to assess the social and living conditions of the valley’s local communities and smallholder farmers, providing insights into their needs, aspirations and ideas.
Learning across borders
Especially regarding emerging contaminants and pharmaceutical residues, Jordan is a step ahead of Egypt, Hosney said. “They have well-established facilities, and protocols for measurements and sampling. In Egypt, this is a very new and emerging area, and at first, it was difficult to convince some stakeholders that these types of contaminants exist, including pharmaceutical residues in water, soil and plants.”
However, having the Jordanian partner on board, sharing their experiences, sampling results and seeing how local communities and farmers are responding to these issues was crucial, as it paved the way for joint learning. “It helped build an understanding that this is not just a topic for developed countries with the "privilege" to discuss,” said Hosney. “Addressing emerging contaminants is not a privilege — it’s a critical issue with potentially significant impacts.”
We aim to equip our students to translate their knowledge into viable and marketable solutions.
Innovation and entrepreneurship
The next step involves researching and implementing sustainable and efficient approaches to wastewater treatment, such as the use of local materials like zeolite tuff, a natural volcanic mineral in constructed wetlands. And photogranule technology, which utilizes sunlight to treat wastewater while simultaneously producing valuable biomass.
As part of the capacity development component of the project, professional training programmes in wastewater treatment and reuse have been set-up jointly with IHE Delft, one at Mutah University in Jordan and another at Nile University in Egypt. Heba Labib, director of NilePreneurs, a nationwide initiative to support startups and small and medium-sized enterprises through capacity building, incubation, and innovation support, introduced the Professional Diploma in Management of Wastewater Technologies and Reuse.
She emphasized the importance of turning knowledge into innovative products, services, and businesses: "Entrepreneurship is one of the most crucial topics as we aim to enable our students to translate their knowledge into viable and marketable solutions."
Tailored approach
Hosney emphasized that successful reuse practices require an interdisciplinary approach. "There are economic, financial, governance, policy, stakeholder, technical and agricultural factors to consider. Typically, projects focus on just one or two of these aspects, but in SafeAgroMENA, we're working to address the connections between all these disciplines.”
When it comes to implementing the actual solutions, she stressed that there is no one-size-fits-all solution: “We need a tailored approach based on the socio-economic status and local practices of the communities. My advice to everyone in this field is to seriously consider the needs and context of local communities from the very beginning."
Equitable groundwater development
The second project introduced was GWS-SENCE. This project aims to contribute to better understood, more sustainable and more equitable groundwater development in urbanized deltas, where the rights of ecosystems and all communities are assured, with shared access to freshwater.
The project involves an interdisciplinary study of the Nile, Niger, and Tana deltas in Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya.
The ultimate goal is to develop equitable groundwater management plans, including smart monitoring of groundwater resources, regulating abstraction, establishing groundwater protection areas, controlling sources of pollution and managing the recharge of aquifers.
Ahmed Nosair’s research in Egypt's Sharkia Governorate, highlighted the poor quality of some the aquifers. The Zagazig University lecturer attributed this to saltwater intrusion caused by sea-level rise and over-extraction, further exacerbated by seepage from polluted open drains and unregulated well drilling.
One of the great aspects of this project is the focus on communication and storytelling. We translate our research findings into simple, accessible language that addresses the root issue.
Adopting better practices
Marmar Badr, a lecturer in the Water Engineering Programme at Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development, argued that groundwater remains poorly understood and unevenly distributed. She explained that learning networks have been created within and across coastal areas, bringing together communities, professionals, and both the private and public sectors.
According to Badr, raising public awareness among the communities living and farming in the delta areas is key: “One of the great aspects of this project is the focus on communication and storytelling. We translate our research findings into simple, accessible language that addresses the root issue.”
As well as helping farmers adopt better practices by digging their own wells, they introduced salt-tolerant crops like tomatoes, boosting farmers' productivity. Badr noted that some farmers have even become trainers, passing on their knowledge to others. Local mosques are also involved in the learning network with imams teaching about efficient groundwater use during Friday prayers, and explaining how farmers can adapt to salinization challenges.
Informed policy making
In the concluding panel discussion, many questions were asked about how to ensure the project’s findings are communicated to the government and implemented in policies. “We had a diverse group of participants, including policymakers, engineers and academics, all in one place discussing the projects.” says Hosney.
"We shared how policymakers can be informed through the results of our sampling campaigns and socio-economic studies, with the goal of building policies that are not only reliable but also ensure the safe reuse of resources."
Water and Development Partnership Programme
The Water and Development Partnership Programme envisions a world where inclusive and diverse partnerships and marginalised knowledges transform the ways we know, use, share and care for water. To achieve this, the programme funds bold, creative and transdisciplinary projects that combine research, education and capacity strengthening activities aimed at creating a peaceful, just and sustainable world. Implemented with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the programme supports organisations in non-European, low- and middle-income countries as they strengthen their capacity to manage water in sustainable and inclusive ways.
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