زيادة فعالية الري و تعظيم الناتج الزراعي لوحدة المياه في قطاع غزة

Abstract EN

Due to the scarcity and contamination of water sources in the Gaza Strip, the relevant authorities have worked to find alternative sources such as seawater desalination.

Therefore, the main aim of the research is to increase the efficiency of irrigation water to ensure water and food security due to expensive operation of sea water desalination plants.

The study was based on reviewing previous agricultural plans, approved agricultural policies, annual reports on agricultural production and its contribution to food security.

A questionnaire to identify farmers' desire to change the agricultural pattern is conducted.

Computerized irrigation model of FAO is built to calculate the optimal consumption of irrigation water.

The study ensures that, many mechanisms could maximize the production of water unit in agriculture.

For instance; rain-fed agriculture should be concentrated in the wet area of the northern Gaza Strip, where the Aridity Index- AI various according to the geographical location and ranges from 0.16 to 0.3.

According to the current practices, the area cultivated with field crops is the lowest 17% of the total agricultural land because it is not feasible in terms of irrigation.

Moreover, a field experiment using the drip system to irrigate eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pepper and squash was conducted.

The production of water unit was increased significantly at P <0.05 for potato (2.78%), tomato (3.79), corn (1.79) and pepper (6%).

Based on the results of FAO-CROPWAT model for different areas in the Gaza Strip, the amount of water used by farmers exceeds the actual demand for irrigation.

Treated wastewater is an alternative source of water for irrigation, which is estimated to be 58 million m3/ year, enough to irrigate fruit trees which constitute 49% of the total agricultural land in the Gaza Strip.