INTEGRATION AMONG EGYPTIAN GOVERNORATES TO OPTIMIZE IRRIGATION WATER USE UTILIZING WEIGHT GOAL PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUE

Egypt has limited available water resources. One of the main targets of the national water resources and agricultural policies in Egypt is the optimal use of these scarce resources. The free cropping pattern policy applied in Egypt gives farmers the right to decide on the cultivated crops according to their own choice. Pollution of the environment and saving irrigation water do not really represent constraining factors for farmers in their decision. The main objective of this research is to investigate the consequences of applying addressed integration among the Egyptian governorates, in order to produce a cropping pattern that optimizes irrigation water use, while considering the viewpoints of farmers as well as decision-makers. Moreover, a partially free cropping pattern policy is scrutinized through the study. A multi-objective optimization approach utilizing the weight goal programming technique was applied to achieve the research. The results of the study illustrated that applying addressed integration among the Egyptian governorates and a partially free cropping pattern policy saves water, reduces cultivated area, lessens fertilizer usage, and increases the net return from crop production. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.