@article{fdi:010075479,
  title = {{I}rrigation improvement projects in the {N}ile {D}elta : promises, challenges, surprises},
  author = {{M}olle, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois and {R}ap, {E}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n the past three decades successive "{I}rrigation {I}mprovement {P}rojects" ({IIP}) have been implemented in the {N}ile {V}alley and {D}elta of {E}gypt. {T}hey have consisted in replacing scattered individual pumps by collective pumps serving distribution networks at the tertiary level, while ensuring a continuous flow in secondary canals, in lieu of the rotational system. {T}his intervention has been praised as "a state-of-the-art project" spearheading the 'modernization' of irrigation in {E}gypt. {G}iven their ambitious objectives and the massive investment of capital planned - the 1986 policy's target was to 'improve' one million ha by the year 2000 - these modernization efforts warrant thorough independent evaluation. {T}his article attempts to revisit the achievements of the project after 30 years of implementation by presenting findings derived from fieldwork surveys carried out in the central part of the {D}elta. {W}e document how these socio-technical innovations perform on the ground, how they change water distribution and how, in turn, they are adopted and reshaped by farmers. {U}nderstanding the contexts in which improvement projects are most beneficial, and the conditions under which such investments may be at risk, leads us to make recommendations as to how the design and implementation of these projects can be improved but also to ask whether such investment is essential for the country.},
  keywords = {{I}rrigation efficiency ; {W}ater user association ; {P}ump station ; {D}evelopment ; project ; {N}ile {D}elta ; {E}gypt ; {EGYPTE} ; {NIL} {DELTA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}gricultural {W}ater {M}anagement},
  volume = {216},
  numero = {},
  pages = {425--435},
  ISSN = {0378-3774},
  year = {2019},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.agwat.2019.02.013},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010075479},
}