Egyptian Agriculture

Fact 1 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The flooding of the Nile River enabled farming possible surrounding the banks of the river Nile, an otherwise desert or semi-arid region.
 

Fact 2 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The River Nile would break its banks each year, saturating the surrounding countryside with a rich silt, fertile alluvial soil that was ideal for crop growing.
 

Fact 3 on Egyptian Agriculture:

Various irrigation systems were developed so that the waters from the River Nile could be introduced inland to fertilize additional lands producing abundant annual crops.  
 

Fact 4 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The majority of ancient Egyptians worked on the land. The annual inundation of the Nile was of such importance that the ancient Egyptians based their lives around its yearly cycle based on three periods of agricultural activity: flooding, sowing and harvesting.
 

Fact 5 on Egyptian Agriculture:

June - September was the time of the flood (Akhet).
October - January was the sowing time (Peret).
February - May was the harvest time (Shemu).
 

Fact 6 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The food crops produced in ancient Egypt included corn, emmer wheat (barley). Vegetables included onions, garlic, leeks, beans, lentils, chickpeas, radishes, cabbage, cucumbers and lettuce. Fruits included dates, figs, pomegranates, melons and grapes.
 

Fact 7 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The industrial crops produced in ancient Egypt included papyrus, lotus and many other flowering plants, date palm, oils, flax and henna (to produce dyes).
 

Fact 8 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The River Nile was key to the development of the Egyptian civilization who built a powerful state based on their agricultural wealth.
 

Fact 9 on Egyptian Agriculture:

The Egyptians also used a type of water management called basin irrigation. This was a form of irrigation where the water is trapped in basins surrounded by low mud walls. Basin irrigation allowed the ancient Egyptians to control the rise and fall of the river to best suit their agricultural needs.
 

Fact 10 on Egyptian Agriculture:

Land Ownership: In theory the lands of Egypt belonged to the gods, and to the pharaoh as representative of Horus. In reality, great estates were owned by the ancient Egyptian nobles and a massive amount of land was owned by the temples. Few ordinary Egyptians owned land, but most worked on it.