Egypt and the Netherlands develop a national approach to salinity

Egypt is stepping up efforts to tackle salinity as part of its agenda for food security, water management and climate-resilient agriculture. The aim is to develop a Salinity Roadmap: a practical framework that helps governments, donors, researchers, companies and farmers work from a shared direction. For the Netherlands, this builds on long-standing cooperation with Egypt in water, agriculture and delta management, while creating opportunities in saline agriculture, soil health and data-driven irrigation.

In Egypt, salinity is no longer a future risk. It is already affecting farmers, water managers and policymakers across the country. ‘For Egypt, salinity is not a standalone technical issue, says Tycho Vermeulen, Agricultural Counselor for Egypt and Jordan at the Dutch Embassy in Cairo. ‘It is directly linked to food security, water management, climate adaptation, agricultural productivity and the prospects of farmers. Rainfall in Egypt is very limited. Everything depends on the Nile. At the same time, the population is growing rapidly, which means there is strong demand for both water and food.’

That pressure is visible in different ways across the country. ‘In northern Egypt, seawater is moving inland, and groundwater is becoming more saline,’ Vermeulen says. ‘Elsewhere, aquifers are being depleted, making the available groundwater increasingly salty. In other areas, salts accumulate in the topsoil because too little water is applied to flush it out. And in some desert and oasis regions, salt is naturally present in the soil and subsoil.’