In North Africa, countries face water scarcity, so they import lots of food. Researchers looked at how trading cereals like maize and wheat saves water. They found that countries like Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia save more water than they have. Importing these cereals helps save water. Only Egypt didn't save water. The study also found that factors like available water, irrigated land, and farmable land influence how much cereal countries import. If a country has less water, they import more cereals. Increasing irrigated land and farmland means less cereal imports. So, importing cereals often happens because of water shortages in North Africa.