The Egyptian economy was based on farming and agriculture. Agriculture was also a major part of the Egyptian bureaucracy. There was a minister of agriculture, a chief of fields, and a master of largesse. The master of largesse looked after the livestock.
The farmers worked by the cycle of the Nile. Even the year was divided into seasons that corresponded with this cycle: the three seasons were periods of inundation ( flooding), sowing, and harvest. The Egyptians believed that the amount of water they had for irrigation was an act of the gods. If there was an abundance of water, it signified prosperity and the gods were pleased, but if there was a drought then the gods were not happy and it meant misery.
Most peasants paid rent for their land which was three and a half bushels of grain for an acre. They also gave 3/5 of their crops as a tax to the pharaoh. Seed grain was lent to tenant farmers and teams of oxen were lent or hired to them. The land was tilled with a wooden plow drawn by ox or traction. The land was plowed twice. The first time was to break the ground. Then the clods were broken up by heavy hoes. The land was then plowed again to cover the seed. The seed was sown by a funnel on the plow or was trodden in by the sheep. Six- rowed barley and emmer wheat were the main crops but lentils, onions, beans, and flax were also important.
Irrigation and the Nile were kept track of and kept under control. In 2925 B.C, a large dam was built to control the Nile and provide water for irrigation. About a thousand years later, the Nile was diverted through a channel 12 miles (19 km) long into the Lake Moeris so that after the flood, water in the lake could be released for irrigation.