The area cultivated in 1885.

(The oldest statistics we have on cultivated areas are found in the statistical data for the year 1885.)

The following information is excerpted from it: b) The total cultivated area in Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt was mentioned separately. Lower Egypt at that time was entirely irrigated by summer irrigation, and most of Upper Egypt was irrigated by basin irrigation.

The areas cultivated with cotton in both Upper and Lower Egypt were shown. To determine the amount of area that was irrigated by summer irrigation in Upper Egypt, it was assumed that the ratio of the area cultivated with cotton to the total summer area was the same in both Upper and Lower Egypt. This estimation, based on this assumption, might be inaccurate, because considering the cultivation of sugarcane in Upper Egypt, the proportion of land cultivated with cotton from the summer lands is less in Upper Egypt than in Lower Egypt.

Based on these assumptions, the following table was prepared:

Cultivated area in 1885.

Percentage of crops

Cotton area | Cotton from the total | Total summer area | Cultivated area | Season

Feddan | Feddan | Feddan | Feddan | Upper Egypt | ... | ... | ... | (Approx.) | 1,486,81... | 11m?

Lower Egypt | ... | ... | ... | (Calculated) | ... 815,334... |

Total for Egypt | ... | ... | 44... m

Cultivated areas in Egypt at the present time.

The Survey Department decided that the total area from which a crop was harvested in 1914-1915 reached 5,000,000 feddans. Of this, 1,000,000 feddans were in Upper Egypt, including Fayoum. The area of Sharqiya in Lower Egypt was 818,700 feddans. The area of basin lands in that year was estimated at 4,000,000 feddans. Thus, the total area suitable for cultivation was 9,000,000 feddans. The difference of 4,000,000 feddans is explainable by the fact that the general area for agriculture was not clearly defined in the previous section, amounting to ... 5,000,000 feddans, so the difference is 40%.

The area of basins and surfaces in Upper Egypt is about 1,418,000 feddans. Of this, 1,000,000 feddans were cultivated in 1885 with summer crops using water wheels and saqias, relying on the Nile or wells in the basins. This last area (also called "hawsh") is irrigated by floodwaters when the basins are full, and its area varies from year to year. Regarding the basin lands, they will require the digging of canals and will take an additional amount of Nile water when they are converted.

The following table shows the distribution of agriculture in Egypt at the present time, which is very close to reality. Fayoum has been added to Lower Egypt because its water requirements are closer to those of Lower Egypt than to Upper Egypt.

104

Upper Egypt

Lower Egypt ...

Agricultural works in Egypt. ... 5,000,000 feddans.