Estimating the amount of virtual water gained from external agricultural investment for maize crop
Abstract: The maize crop is considered one of the most important cereal crops and one of the strategic crops in the Egyptian food pattern. The study aimed to estimate the amount and value of virtual water for foreign trade to achieve relative food security for maize in Egypt, by estimating the total water footprint and its various indicators, and estimating the strategic stock and food security factor. The most important results were that the average strategic stock of maize in Egypt amounted to about 3,478 million tons, and that the average local annual consumption of the crop amounted to about 13.37 million tons, and then the food security factor reached about 0.260, and the average water needs per ton amounted to about 1022 m3, as an average for the period (2006-2020). It is clear that the total amount of virtual water for trade to achieve the full level The food security of maize ranges between a minimum and a maximum, where the minimum is about 6516 million m3, with a financial value of about 2052 million pounds, and the maximum is about 17213 million m3, with a financial value of about 5422 million pounds at the same confidence period.
By studying the economic return of the maize crop, it was found that the total production of the crop during the period (2006-2020) amounted to about 6829 thousand tons, with water needs amounting to about 6393 million m3, with a value of about 2014 million pounds, while the imported amount of the crop amounted to 6783 thousand tons to dam The food gap, and by applying the principle of virtual water and the water foot print of the maize crop, it was found that the amount of water that was imported amounted to about 7089 million m3, with a value of about 2233 million pounds.
The study recommends directing the amount of virtual water resulting from importing maize, amounting to about 7,089 million m 3 to grow other crops for the same season, and directing Egyptian agricultural investment in some countries that have abundant water resources, and decision makers should adopt the concept of virtual water when developing the future strategy for the agricultural sector.
Publication year 2022
Organization Name
serial title المجلة الدولية الاردنية
Author(s) from ARC
Publication Type Journal
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