The survey covered 20 of the country’s governorates, which were selected to represent the whole country. (The remaining governorates contribute little to agricultural production in Egypt.) Lower Egypt was represented by 12 governorates: Alexandria, Behaira, Kafr El-Sheikh, Damietta, Dakahlia, Sharkia, Gharbia, Menoufia, Qalyoubia, Port Said, Ismailia and Noubaria; Middle Egypt by four: Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef and Menia; and Upper Egypt by four: Assuit, Suhag, Qena and Aswan. The mean temperature and precipitation for each governorate are presented in Table 1. A sample of 45 households was collected from each governorate, making a total of 900 (see Table 2).

_Farm household data:_ A farm household questionnaire was used to collect information from the selected household. The questionnaire attempted to capture information on pertinent variables required to calculate net farm revenues and to explain the variation in net farm revenues, land values and income across representative sample districts and agro-climatic regions in the country. The periods of interest were the winter season of 2001/2002 (October to April) and the summer season of 2002 (May to September). Some farmers plant crops in a third season, called the Nili season, stretching from July or August to October or November. The questionnaire also aimed to capture farmers’ perception of, knowledge about and attitudes to climate variation and change.

The questionnaire had two main parts and six sections. Part 1 focused on crop production and Part 2 on livestock. Sections 1 and 2 asked about household characteristics and the household head’s employment. The questions in Section 3 were about the household’s land under farming activities (both crops and livestock), and about the labor used for various farm activities and about their costs. In Section 4 detailed questions were asked about crop farming activities: the type of crops grown, the area of land planted, the quantities harvested and sold, and various costs such as seeds, fertilizer and pesticides; light, heavy and light and heavy machinary and animals used in agricultural work; and farming related buildings. Section 4 asked about the types of animals farmed and how many were purchased, lost and sold during 2001/02, and about livestock and poultry products, such as milk, beef, wool and eggs. Section 5 asked about the farmers’ access to information for farming activities and the sources and cost of this information, and Section 6 asked for an estimate of the farm household’s total income (for both farming and non-farming activities), taxes paid and subsidies received during 2001/02. Finally, Section 7 investigated farmers’ perceptions of short- and long-term climate change and their adaptation strategies in response to these.

_Climate data:_ Two main sources of climatic data were used: satellite data for temperature and ARTES (Africa Rainfall and Temperature Evaluation System) data for precipitation (wetness). The satellite data comes from the US Department of Defense polar orbiting satellites that pass over the entire earth between 6am and 6pm every day. These satellites are equipped with sensors that detect microwaves that can pass through clouds and detect both surface temperature and surface wetness. The ARTES data is created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s (NOAA’s) Climate Prediction Center of the US and is based on ground station measurements of precipitation and minimum and maximum temperature.

_Soil data:_ These data were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The data provides information on major and minor soils by governorate in the country.

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