Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on small-scale farming in Northeastern Nile Delta of Egypt and learned lessons for water conservation potentials

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a great impact on the agricultural sector, especially in developing countries. In particular, it caused exceptional challenges to small and local-scale farmers. Field questionnaires and interviews were used to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on small-scale farmers in the Northern Nile Delta of Egypt. Agricultural farms in Southern Port Said City represent emerging agricultural communities on newly reclaimed land, while those in Damietta are stable agricultural communities (old land of the Nile Delta). The questionnaire was divided into four questions groups to identify and analyze the different reasons that contributed to the disruption of farming systems and the agricultural sector. These groups were farmers' data, the effect of COVID-19 on agriculture inputs, infection rates and precautionary measures against COVID-19, and potential measures and governmental policies for controlling the negative impacts of COVID-19 and achieving agricultural sustainability. Results showed that the effect of lockdown was slightly lower in Damietta as compared to Port Said. Although fertilizers and labors costs, as well as water availability near Port Said, was not considerably affected during the lockdown, the total income of the small-scale farmers' notability decreased. The reluctance of major traders to buy crop production and keep the required balance of cash during the pandemic dramatically affected the crop production selling prices. Results showed that in the absence of agricultural extensions possibilities, there is a lack of awareness toward improving agricultural practices and switching to smart irrigation systems as a way of saving water and increasing crop productivity. The resistance against applying new agricultural practices and switching to smart irrigation systems depends mainly on farmers' financial capability and the nature of agricultural land either old or new. Activating the agricultural extensions roles is considered a keystone for enhancing agricultural sustainability in small-scale farming not only in developing regions of Egypt but also in other similar agricultural communities worldwide.