A Proposed Model for Suitable Cropping Patterns under The Conditions of East El-Oweinat Area in New Valley Governorate

The East El-Oweinat project is the second largest agricultural development project implemented in the south of the valley in southwest Egypt (after the Toshka project) and its area is 528 thousand acres where the soil is rich and free of pollutants and is ideal soil for producing various crops.Most previous studies have shown that there is a deviation in the current cropping pattern from the efficient economic use of production resources, especially the irrigation water resource in that area, which is considered one of the promising areas for agricultural development. The aim of the research is to propose the efficient cropping pattern in East El-Oweinat area in light of the available irrigation water quantities. The importance of the research is due to it being one of the applied studies that can contribute to achieving economic and social development in East El-Oweinat area through agricultural planning of the area on a sound scientific basis.Given the nature of the research problem, the study used the Goal Programming method to achieve appropriate crop structures in the study area centers, relying on published and unpublished data from their primary and secondary sources, in addition to studies and research related to the study topic.The research results reached the formulation of the efficient cropping pattern model by restructuring the crop structure for the 2022/2023 season in the study area, as the net return in the proposed model amounted to about 9.175 billion pounds, and the return per m3 of irrigation water amounted to about 6.78 pounds /m3, and the achieved water savings are estimated at about 45.8 million m3 annually compared to the actual annual consumption. The research recommended the necessity of educating farmers and investors about the water quotas for all cultivated crops that thrive in the study area and the necessity of adhering to them, and directing farmers not to cultivate crops with high water requirements, and recalculating the water quotas for various crops grown under the conditions of the study area in light of current and expected climate changes.