The flooding of the Nile Delta

A farmer pumps waste water on to his land as the Nile barely reaches it. The region is home to two-thirds of the country's growing population and provides 60% of its food supply Photograph: Jason Larkin

Rashida resident Said Mohamed Shairwi fishes from a sea wall built recently to prevent coastal erosion. In some places Egypt's coasts are being eroded at a rate of 100 metres a year Photograph: Jason Larkin

A woman carries a large pile of wheat for threshing during an intensive harvest. Many women in the area take on seasonal day work for $3 an hour during busy harvest periods Photograph: Jason Larkin

Abdul Fattah ploughs his field in Kafr el-Sheikh, one of the worst-affected areas, before planting rice Photograph: Jason Larkin

A young boy who works on the fishing boats on Lake Burullus Photograph: Jason Larkin

A huge automated irrigation machine moves slowly through a potato plantation grown on reclaimed desert land outside Alexandria Photograph: Jason Larkin

Labourers harvest rice from a paddy in Kafr el-Sheikh Photograph: Jason Larkin

Mohammed, 13, walks home with his farming tools after working on his family's fields in the village of El-Haddadi Photograph: Jason Larkin

Apartment buildings alongside the Damietta branch of the Nile, where the resort Ras el-Bar lies. Once a popular holiday destination, the holiday homes are now deserted Photograph: Jason Larkin

Polluted water from agricultural drainage and sewage is pumped into a canal leading out into the Mediterranean near Rashida Photograph: Jason Larkin

A girl watches over water buffalo grazing in her family's field Photograph: Jason Larkin

Salt-encrusted soil on a potato plantation near El-Haddadi village provides evidence of the problems of sea encroachment Photograph: Jason Larkin