Water Management Research Institute Director on National TV

Agricultural Satellite Channel Within the context of the intensified activities carried out by the research institutes affiliate to the National Water Research Center, Egypt’s Agricultural Satellite Channel had an interview with Prof. Gamal El-Kassar, Director of Water Management Research Institute on Tuesday, 15/5/2020. The interview tackled various issues including: the role of WMRI in water resources management and preserving water in Egypt, water conservation using modern irrigation systems instead of traditional ones, in addition to canal rehabilitation programs for the benefit of farmers. The interview also shed light on the capabilities of WMRI in terms of research stations, pilot areas, and cooperation with farmers. The Institute carries out applied models, where WMRI is considered a pioneer in its application. The most important applications are: the use of modern farming and irrigation methods to assess the productivity of rice crop, the use of remote sensing techniques to calculate water consumption in the western delta areas and the northern delta areas, in addition to the study of integrated cultivation (fish production - agricultural production). The interview also addressed the project of “Raising irrigation efficiency by development and rehabilitation of canals, and rehabilitation of the national structure of the water resources system. This will lead to reaching the highest possible economic return from the water unit, as it is one of the most important ways that will lead to the implementation of modern irrigation methods. At the end of the interview, the Director of WMRI emphasized on the Institute’s role in organizing programs and training courses within the framework of reinforcing the cooperation between Nile Basin countries. These training courses focus on integrated water resources management, and capacity building, on-farm irrigation management, design and evaluate irrigation systems, asses water consumption and needs for crop cultivation, economic and social assessment, in addition to designing allocation networks. WMRI also carried out graduate rehabilitation project on the operation and management of modern irrigation systems. The institute is also working on developing stations and research areas, and providing them with the latest measuring devices and equipment to raise the efficiency of studies and research carried out by the Institute to catch up with the rapid scientific and technological development.