The African Development Bank and the Government of Egypt have signed two grant agreements amounting to US$860,000 to help finance water and agriculture projects in the country. The first grant of US$290,000 will support preparation of the feasibility study for integrated sanitation technologies in some rural areas in Upper Egypt. It will identify appropriate ways to provide suitable and sustainable sanitation services for the population in 59 selected rural villages. The second grant of US$570,000 will support the National Drainage Programme, which aims at optimising the benefits of irrigation by draining excess irrigation water from agricultural land in order to reduce water logging and consequent soil salinity, in addition to making more land available for cultivation. This is expected to result in higher crop yields in the target areas, higher farm incomes and increased food security and poverty reduction.
