Economics of irrigation water used for crops competing with rice.

Irrigation water is considered a strategic agricultural resource, as it is a limited resource. In addition, water resources are one of the most important components of agriculture in Egypt, so the state is interested in maximizing the efficiency of water use. so it was necessary to identify the efficiency of using alternative crops for water, and its reflection on optimal use.? The most important results: • Starting from 2018, the year in which the decision to reduce the rice area was implemented, The area of maize decreased by a rate of 4.7% during (2013-2022), which confirms that the farmer does not grow maize as an alternative crop to rice. As for the cotton crop, it increased, which shows that the farmer has made the decision to grow cotton instead of the area of rice.• It is recommended to increase the areas of maize and cotton cultivation in some Lower Egypt governorates such as Dakahlia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Menoufia, Sharkia, and Beheira due to the high production efficiency of using irrigation water. It is also preferable to reduce the areas of maize and cotton cultivation in Upper Egypt governorates, especially Aswan, Qena, and the New Valley governorates, due to the high water requirements for production and the low productivity per Feddan compared to the rest of the governorates of the Republic.• The shadow price of irrigation water for maize and cotton crops was estimated at about 215.1 and 248.3 LE / m3, respectively.