Cairo, Dec 3 (AFP/APP): Under the shade of a tree, Mohamed Omar joined other farmers bickering over who would water their crops first as supply from the Nile to a nearby canal dwindled. “My plot has been thirsty for days. I need the water to nourish the soil before it goes to others,” said Omar, 65, whose farm is nestled in a village on the outskirts of Egypt’s Giza. “We are dependent on the Nile water which is especially short during summertime,” he added as he tended to his leafy vegetable crops of spinach and cabbage. Egypt has for years been suffering from a severe water crisis that is largely blamed on population growth, and farmers try to make the most of the short supply. But other factors include climate change drying up the Nile, and water pollution due to sewage discharge as well as industrial and municipal waste. Mounting anxiety has gripped the already-strained farmers as the completion of Ethiopia’s gigantic dam on the Blue Nile, a key tributary of the Nile, draws nearer. Egypt views the hydro-electric barrage as an existential threat that could severely reduce its water supply. But Ethiopia insists Egypt’s water share will not be … Continue reading Troubled waters for Egypt as Ethiopia pushes Nile dam