Egyptian agriculture depends overwhelmingly on irrigation because rainfall is insufficient to sustain most crop production. The Nile Valley and Delta therefore form a highly engineered irrigation landscape in which conveyance, field application, drainage, groundwater interactions and reuse are tightly connected. This review synthesizes evidence on irrigation management in Egypt, with emphasis on irrigation efficiency, surface versus modern irrigation systems, subsurface drainage, salinity, agricultural drainage-water reuse, and the emerging need for integrated water management under increasing demand and climate uncertainty. Published studies indicate that improving field and conveyance performance can reduce avoidable losses, but apparent water savings at farm scale do not automatically translate into equivalent basin-scale savings because return flows and drainage-water reuse are integral components of the Egyptian water system. Research from the Nile Delta also shows that drainage design affects irrigation efficiency, water use efficiency, crop performance and salinity control. Recent work on modern irrigation systems highlights an additional trade-off: localized irrigation may reduce crop water consumption while altering groundwater recharge and salinity dynamics, particularly in coastal parts of the Delta [9]. The review proposes an integrated framework linking irrigation scheduling, land leveling, appropriate modernization, drainage management, water-quality monitoring, treated drainage-water reuse and farmer participation. The evidence suggests that Egypt's most useful irrigation strategy is not a single technology but coordinated management of water quantity, quality, soil salinity and return flows at farm, canal and basin scales.
Keywords:Egypt; irrigation; agriculture; Nile Delta; agricultural water management; irrigation efficiency; drainage; salinity; water reuse