Zaki Hassan Al-Najjar

Egyptian agricultural scientist who pioneered sustainable farming in arid regions

Zaki Hassan Al-Najjar (1915-1968) revolutionized desert agriculture through his innovative irrigation systems and crop rotation techniques. Born in Alexandria, he developed the 'Najjar Method' which transformed 1.2 million acres of Egyptian desert into arable land by 1960. His work with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) established drip irrigation systems still used today. Read more. He trained over 3,000 farmers through his mobile education units, creating self-sustaining communities in the Western Desert. His 1957 book Agriculture Without Rain became a global textbook translated into 7 languages. Despite his achievements, Najjar remained a humble fieldworker until his death during a drought relief mission in Chad. His legacy lives on in the Al-Najjar Agricultural Institute in Cairo.