The market-based water conservation generally refers to using the incentive principle for encouraging farmers to practice less water consuming agriculture. Incentives can entail drawing on the economic value of water to induce farmers to adopt conservation measures. Few experiences of irrigation water pricing have been carried out worldwide with varying indicators of success. However, the Egyptian Government’s attitude against irrigation water pricing.

Meanwhile, there are some applications of cost recovery in Egypt such as:

• Irrigation improvement cost recovery.
• Subsurface drainage cost recovery.
• Cost recovery in the new lands.
• Cost recovery for operation and maintenance.
• Cost recovery on new projects.

The Irrigation Improvement Project comprises improving control structures, using modern methods in land leveling, on farm development, rehabilitation of main and branch canals and most of mesqas, promoting equity of water distribution, and forming water users associations.

The Mesqa improving costs consist of:

• Investment costs for the mesqa pumps, the repayment over a period not exceeding 5 years.
• Investment costs for civil works including mesqa remodeling, PVC pipes, lining, etc.
• Costs are paid to government over a period not more than 20 year without interest.
• Farmers pay O&M costs directly to WUAs