Amin Ramadan

Egyptian inventor who developed affordable irrigation systems for desert agriculture

Amin Ramadan (1930-1997) was an Egyptian agricultural engineer whose innovations in irrigation technology transformed desert farming. Growing up in the Nile Delta, he saw how water scarcity limited agricultural potential in Egypt's western deserts. After studying at Cairo University, he spent two decades developing low-cost irrigation systems using recycled materials.

His 1968 invention, the Sahara Drip Irrigation System, used perforated plastic tubing to deliver water directly to plant roots. This reduced water usage by 60% while increasing crop yields. By 1975, his systems were implemented on 200,000 acres of previously barren land in Egypt's Western Desert.

Ramadan's work inspired similar projects in Saudi Arabia and Libya, and his 1972 book Greening the DesertEl-Salam City project, established on reclaimed desert land using his methods, remains a model for desert development. Modern environmentalists like Abdulrahman Abdulmohsin credit him with pioneering desert agriculture techniques.