Irrigation in Brazil
| Brazil: Irrigation | |
|---|---|
| |
| Land Area | 8,459,000 km2 |
| Agricultural Land (% of land area) | 31% |
| Total area equipped for irrigation (% of cultivated area) | 4.4% |
| Irrigated area | 3.5 ha |
| Irrigation systems | 42% (flodding irrigation), 6% furrow irrigation, 22% (sprinkler irrigation), 23% central pivots, 6% (localized irrigation) |
| Importance of irrigated agriculture (share in GDP) | ~8% (1998) |
| Water sources for irrigation | Surface water (95%) |
| Tariff (US$/ha) | US$ 3.51 to US$24.58 per 1,000 m |
| Annual investment in irrigation infrastructure | n/a |
Irrigation in Brazil is developing along different models. Private irrigation predominates in the populated South, Southeast and Center-West regions. In the Northeast region the public sector is the main investor, seeking to stimulate regional development in an area with serious social problems. These different approaches have resulted on diverse outcomes. Of the 120 million hectares that are potentially available for agriculture, only about 3 million ha are currently under irrigation, although estimates show that 29 ha are suitable for this practice.
Irrigation development
Irrigation infrastructure
Although irrigation methods in Brazil may be considered modern compared to other countries in the region, gravity irrigation accounts for 48% of the total irrigated agricultural area (3.5 million ha), 42% use flooding (rice) and 6% use furrows or other gravity methods mostly in the South, Southeast and Center-West. Of the remaining 52%, approximately 22% use mobile sprinkler systems, 23% use mechanized sprinkling (central pivot), 1% use perforated or gated tubes, and 6% use localized irrigation, i.e., drip and/or micro-sprinkling systems. These less labor-intensive irrigation technologies are used for grain farming in the cerrados (savanna) and vegetable and fruit growing in the Northeast and near the metropolitan areas. In the water scarce areas of the Northeast, increasing use is being made of drip irrigation equipment, although not always applying the most modern technology [1]
Linkages with water resources
Brazil has always been considered a country rich in water. However, Brazil's hydro-climatic regions and irrigation systems vary widely.
In the South, frosty conditions in winter have limited irrigation mainly to summer flooding of lowlands for rice production. In the milder Southeast, irrigation in winter has made double-cropping possible inter wheat, peas or beans are rotated with rainfed summer crops, including cotton. Local water shortage occurs in some small watersheds in the southeast and south where irrigation development and water consumption for industry and municipal use have been relatively uncontrolled [2].
The large size and level terrain of farms in the vast cerrado areas of the Center-West are well suited to center-pivot and self-propelled irrigation systems, which have expanded rapidly in the last few years.
Much of the Northeast is semi-arid land and has severely limited water resources compared with the other regions. The groundwater supply is limited so approximately 95% of irrigated lands use surface water[2]. Water from the Sao Francisco River, the main river in the Northeast, has to be conveyed over considerable distances to irrigable land. The relatively high cost of irrigation and the limited size of regional markets for high-value crops have limited large-scale, private irrigation development in the Northeast. The Government has tried to compensate for this gap by locating most of the public sector irrigation schemes in this region[1].
Most of Brazil's humid tropics are in the North. Irrigation needs in that region are few, and development is limited to small areas of lowland rice[1].
Environmental impacts of irrigation
The geographic expansion of the Brazilian agricultural frontier and irrigation systems has been the most important activity directly involved in the Amazon deforestation process [3]. Timber extraction, charcoal production, mining, and hydroelectric dams have been minor contributors, compared with agriculture. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon occurs mainly along a band, varying in width between 200 and 600 kilometers. This band stretches from the northeastern state of Maranhão, through Pará and Mato Grosso and includes colonization areas in Rondônia in the East [3].
Although little information is available on the impacts of Brazilian agriculture in water quality, agricultural runoff is considered to have a major impact on it. Increased inputs of phosphorus (P) found in maneuver used as fertilizer in agriculture, has accelerated eutrophication and become a major threat to water quality especially in the South. In 2003 there was 2.6 times more P produced in manure (1.08 million tones) than applied as fertilizer (0.42 million tons) in South Brazil, leaving an annual P surplus of 0.66 million tons in the South region alone[4].
Little information is available in drainage, salinity and waterlogging in Brazil. The surface with drainage equipment is around 1.28 million ha, mostly in the areas with irrigation equipment [2]. The natural saline areas in Brazil are quantified on average at 86 million ha, located especially in the driest areas with average precipitation below 1 000 mm/y. The area affected by salinity as a result of improper irrigation is estimated at 15 000 ha, mostly in the northeast where 40 percent of the irrigated land is affected [5].
The extension of the areas with natural water logging, called "varzeas", is 13.35 million ha. CODEVASF is in the process of designing and implementing a drainage system to prevent water logging in the Northeast region[2].
History of the irrigation sector
Agricultural land under irrigation/past and present trends
In 1970 there were less than 800,000 hectares (ha) of irrigated land, used mainly as rice paddies in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and less intensively in some areas of public irrigation in the northeast. Irrigation has really only taken off since then, with the implementation of public investment policies in infrastructure for irrigation, energy transmission and distribution, and finance for equipment and day-to-day expenses.
Today about 3 million ha are currently under irrigation although 29 million ha are estimated suitable for irrigation. Irrigation is developing along different models. In the South Southeast, and Center-West regions, private irrigation predominates with emphasis on planting rice and grain crops. In these areas investment depends on the return obtained from the sale of the irrigated crops. In the Northeast, the public sector is the main investor, seeking to stimulate regional development in an area with serious incidence of poverty. Investment in the Northeast has traditionally been focused on crops such as corn or beans, and has moved recently to irrigate fruit production, especially along perennial rivers such as Sao Francisco River [6].
Institutional Development
- In 1965, the National Department for Water and Electrical Energy (DNAEE) under the Ministry of Mines and Energy was entrusted with the management and control of the country's water resources.
- In 1979, the Ministry of the Interior (MINTER) assumed water resources planning and control functions and delivered irrigation permits.
- In 1986, the federal irrigation functions of MINTER were consolidated under the direction of a special Minister of Irrigation Affairs. Two programs were created: the Northeast Irrigation Program (PROINE) and the National Irrigation Program (PRONI). Their mandate was essentially the planning, coordination, promotion and monitoring of irrigation activities in collaboration with the newly established state-level Irrigation Coordinating Committees (ECEs).
- From 1995 to 1998, the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Amazon Affairs (MMA) was responsible for irrigation affairs. Field implementation of federally-funded irrigation infrastructure is carried out by the Company for the Development of São Francisco Valley (CODEVASF) and the National Department for Anti-drought Works (DNOCS). CODEVASF's original mandate was to work in the São Francisco Valley, yet today it also operates outside its geographical boundaries. DNOCS is mandated to operate in the northeastern drought polygon. The Public Irrigation Schemes are designed and constructed by CODEVASF and DNOCS.
- In December 1988, PROINE and PRONI were merged into a single irrigation program, the National Policy on Irrigation and Drainage (Projeto Novo Modelo de Irrigaçao).
- Since January 1999, the irrigation affairs, including DNOCS and CODEVASF, have been transferred to a "Special Secretariat for Regional Policies", which falls directly under the Government Council. Various responsibilities in support of irrigation projects have been transferred also to the Minister of Agriculture and Supply (MAA) [2].
Legal and institutional framework
Legal framework
The 1934 Water Code was the first relevant water resources management legislation in Brazil [7] . This Act ensures the free use of any water current or spring for basic life necessities and permits everyone to use any public waters, observing administrative regulations [2].
The 1988 Constitution established a national water resources management system. The Constitution divided the country’s waters between the union and the states, and states began to implement their own water resources management systems. Sao Paulo pioneered this process and approved a water resources management act in 1991 [7].
An Irrigation Law, promulgated in 1979, sets government policies for irrigation development dealing inter alia with: (i) utilization of land and water; (ii) research and planning; (iii) implementation of public projects; (iv) water tariffs for public projects; (v) preservation of water quality; (vi) expropriation of land for irrigation construction; and (vii) promotion of private projects. The Irrigation Law and its regulations provide for the cost recovery of investment and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs of Government-supported irrigation projects through water charges on beneficiaries [2].
Institutional framework
Management and control of the country's water resources are divided among several Government agencies, and there is no formal mechanism for effectively coordinating their policies and activities. The Ministry of Environment is in charge of water policies, with the exception of irrigation.
The Ministry of National Integration deals mainly with irrigation and programs to promote the development of the country’s neediest regions. The main executing agencies of the Ministry of National Integration are: CODEVASF, which implements irrigation projects in the São Francisco River Basin; the Office of the Superintendent for the Development of the Northeast Region (SUDENE), which implements programs targeted to the Northeast; and the Office of the Superintendent for the Development of the Amazon Region (SUDAM), which implements programs targeted to the Northern Region.
Brazil underwent an important process of decentralization during the 1990s, allowing local governments to exert a strong influence on policy making. Most state governments have their own Secretariats of Agriculture and carry out a wide range of tasks related to the agricultural sector, such as agricultural extension and research, irrigation investments, and poverty alleviation projects, especially in the Northeast.
Outside the government, civil society organizations, universities, and other research institutions play a very influential role in policy making Template:Ref harv.
Public-private role on irrigation development
According to the Irrigation Law, irrigation projects may be either public or private (Art. 8). Public Projects are those whose irrigation infrastructure is designed, implemented, and operated, either directly or indirectly, under the responsibility of the Public Authority. Private Projects are those whose irrigation infrastructure is designed, implemented, and operated by individuals, either with or without public sector incentives.
Although this classification makes it possible to easily distinguish between projects that are clearly of a public nature, in which the Public Authority builds and operates the common irrigation infrastructure and settles family farmers, and projects that are entirely of a private nature, carried out with private infrastructure and on private land, the classification of projects with the relevant participation of both the Public Authority and the private sector is not yet clear.
The aim of Bill No 6.381 (Irrigation Bill), presently being considered by the Chamber of Deputies and already approved by the Federal Senate (PL 229), is to reformulate the National Irrigation Policy, adapting it to present circumstances and revoking Law No 6.662/79. The Irrigation Bill will propose a third category—the Mixed Irrigation Project—defined as a project executed and implemented in accordance with Law No 11079 of December 30, 2004, which establishes the public-private partnership scheme–PPP (Art. 12) Template:Ref harv.
Water tariff and cost recovery
No bulk water fees are charged for the use of water for irrigation. An inconsistent system of water tariffs for the O&M in public irrigation projects is presently in use. These tariffs are allocated to the sponsoring agency and distributed to the irrigation districts. In 1997 the cost of water tariffs in public irrigation projects ranged from US$ 3.51 to US$24.58 per 1,000 m.
Water fees in public irrigation projects are regulated by the Irrigation Law (1984 Law 89.496). This legislation defines that water tariffs in public irrigation projects are estimated by the sum of two coefficients, Kl and K2. Coefficient KI, calculated annually, corresponds to the payment of public capital investment in a project's infrastructure. It assumes a 50 year repayment period and subsidized interest rates, and its value is a function of the irrigated area. In 1998, the KI value for public irrigation projects was R$4.41/halmonth. Coefficient K2 is meant to cover the total O&M cost of a project, and is estimated as a function of the volume of water used (R$/1,000 in3). The KI tariff is paid to the sponsoring federal agency, while the K2 component is usually paid to the water user district directly [8].
Investment
Brazilian irrigation development has been done in the private sector and with little government support. Governmental investments have focused on the semi-arid northwestern area, with a high concentration of poor population. More than US$ 2 billion of public funds ware invested in irrigation works over the past three decades, serving 200,000 ha in the Brazilian semi-arid region, 140,000 ha of which are under production.
Investment costs for settling small farmers in public irrigation projects have averaged US$6,500/ha including on-farm development and the necessary irrigation equipment. For a farm size of 6.0 ha the investment per family is some US$40,00u on the average, not including the cost of agricultural support services and operational subsidies. The cost of public irrigation projects providing water for large farmers and commercial farming enterprises (only the off-farm, main conveyance system) are considerably lower, depending on the distance of the irrigated area from the water source, the elevation of the command area and the layout of the schemes. Investment costs of private irrigation development, with short conveyance distances from the source of water to the irrigated areas and low pumping lifts, are usually a fraction of the cost of public schemes and range from less than US$600 to 3,500/ha, depending on the type of on-farm technology used. Generally, investment costs of private irrigation are higher in the Northeast than in other regions due to more limited access to perennial sources of water [1]
Possible climate change impacts on irrigated agriculture
Global climate change will take effect on the climate of North-eastern Brazil. The direction of precipitation changes however cannot be determined with certainty. Both very significant precipitation losses and moderate precipitation increases should be considered plausible. The impacts of precipitation losses will cause large scale reductions in the availability of stored surface water leads to an increasing imbalance between water demand and water supply after 2025. Agricultural production would show negative tendencies after 2025 due to insufficiency of water supply to meet irrigation water demands [9].
External cooperation
In 2008, the Government of Brazil represented by CODEVASF/Ministry of National Integration seeks help from the World Bank to elaborate an environmental, social and financial assessment for the concession of public irrigation perimeters in the Southeastern region.
Lessons learned from Brazil's model
The World Bank’s evaluation of irrigation projects in the Semi-Arid Region, concluded that there was a very positive evolution in the implementation of irrigated agriculture—both public and private—in the Semi-Arid Region in the three decades since it began. The focus of public projects evolved from socially based efforts to sustainable entrepreneurial activity; from subsistence farming to agribusiness; from traditional subsistence crops to highly technical fruit cultivation; and from conventional irrigation to modern localized and precision irrigation techniques.
The study showed that the inclusion of entrepreneurial producers in irrigation perimeters, through the successful partnership between public- and private-sector agents, was the key factor in the positive performance of irrigated agriculture in the region. Other factors that contributed to the projects’ success were: (i) suitable scales and rates of implementation; (ii) ongoing political and financial support; (iii) skilled and creative executing agencies; (iv) adequate urban/municipal support; (v) effective technological support; (vi) proximity to markets and ports; (vii) aggressive, efficient marketing; (viii) organization of producers; (ix) organization and standardization of products; and (x) good management of primary production units. Successful projects had high rates of economic return (between 16 percent and 19 percent) as well as high internal rates of return Template:Ref harv.
See also
Cited References
- ^ a b c d World Bank (September 1990). "Brazil Irrigation Subsector Review" (PDF). World Bank. pp. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ a b c d e f g Aquastat (2000). "Country Profiles: Brazil" (HTML). Food and Agriculture Organization. pp. pp. 1. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ a b IFPRI (n.d.). "Economic growth, poverty alleviation, and natural resource degradation in Brazil" (PDF). IFPRI. pp. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help); line feed character in|title=at position 17 (help) - ^ Francirose Shigaki ; et al. (April 2006). "Animal-based agriculture, phosphorus management and water quality in Brazil: options for the future" (HTML). Scientia Agricola. pp. pp. 1. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help) - ^ Stockle, Claudio O. (n.d.). "Environmental Impact of Irrigation: A review" (PDF). Washington State University. pp. pp. 1, 3–5. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ ANA (August 2002). "Evolution of Water Resources Management in Brazil" (HTML). ANA. pp. pp. 1. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ a b Mejia, Abel ; et al. (June 2003). "Water, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development" (PDF). World Bank. pp. pp. 1, 3–6. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help) - ^ Asad, Musa ; et al. (June 1999). "Management of Water Resources: Bulk Water Pricing in Brazil" (PDF). World Bank. pp. pp. 1, 18–32. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help) - ^ M.S. Krol and P. van Oel (2004). "Integrated Assessment of Water Stress in Ceará, Brazil, under Climate Change Forcing" (PDF). University of Twente, The Netherlands. pp. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help)
Sources
Template:Ref harvNinio, Alberto ; et al. (2006). "Framework Analysis for the Implementation of Public–Private Partnerships in Public Irrigation Perimeters". World Bank, Sustainable Development Working Paper. 31 (A): 1, 7–12. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)