Even the ploughing that the Egyptians did was relatively easy because cattle could be used to do the work. The only major worry was that the flooding of the canal would be too intense or not enough. An extreme on either side would often severely hinder the harvest that season, leading to famine and flooding for the Egyptian people. Nevertheless, without the Nile, Egyptian life would have been radically different because the river provided so many necessities that were extremely difficult to find elsewhere.
While planting the crops was easier than farming in most areas, the Nile did nothing to assist with harvesting. The massive amounts of grain produced, ranging from one to two million tons, required huge amounts of manpower to harvest. Due to the massive amount of grain, the harvesting was an event in which government was extremely involved, unlike the planting where there was no need for government interference. Workers would go the river, measure it, estimate the amount of grain grown, and assign teams to certain areas. Practically the entire population would work on harvesting the crops from the river, slowly moving down it until they finished. Despite the intricate process and helpful river, a decent amount of the crops were unfit to be eaten. There were many reasons for a bad harvest, such as poor administration, dam upkeep, insects, or even thieves. However, even with large scale crop death, Egypt still produced enough grain to have a surplus every year, which further emphasizes how well off they were because of the Nile river.
Clearly the Nile was an incredibly important resource for the Egyptian people. This importance is reflected in their mythology as well as their agricultural practices. The Nile was given its own god, Hapi, who has two halves, one for the Northern portion of the Nile and another for the Southern. Hapi was considered one of the greatest Egyptian gods in terms of benefaction to the people.
