According to the study, 2.2 million hectares are irrigated by central pivots in the country; it is an expansion of almost 300 thousand hectares compared to 2022
The extreme west of Bahia became the largest center-pivot irrigation hub in Brazil, surpassing the northwest of Minas Gerais, which led the way. ranking. This is what a survey carried out by the (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) shows, with data until October 2024.
The research showed an expansion of almost 300 thousand irrigated hectares in the country in relation to the last analysis, carried out in 2022, by the (National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency) and the (National Institute for Space Research). According to the current survey, 2.2 million hectares are irrigated by central pivots in Brazil. In 2022, the area corresponded to 1.92 million hectares.
“Today’s data reveals growth in irrigated areas of over 14% in just 2 years, proving the dynamics of the sector”declares the researcher, from the Agrometeorology area of (MG), one of the authors of the study (), which included the participation of the researcher from the Geoprocessing and Remote Sensing area, .
Addition of 140 thousand ha and 3.8 thousand pivots
The results obtained from the survey showed an area of 2,200,960 hectares irrigated by 33,846 central pivots, with an increase of 140,842 hectares and 3,807 new irrigation equipment. “The municipalities with the largest areas irrigated by central pivots in the country are São Desidério, in Bahia, with 91,687 hectares; Paracatu, in Minas, with 88,889 hectares; Unaí, also in Minas Gerais, with 81,246 hectares; Cristalina, in Goiás, with 69,579 hectares; and Barreiras, in Bahia, with 60,919 hectares”says the researcher.
According to Guimarães, this growth is related to topographic conditions, ease of implementing projects, the use of water from the Urucuia Aquifer and the storage of irrigation water in geomembrane tanks. “The growth trends of the main irrigated areas show that the municipality of Barreiras (BA) should soon surpass Cristalina, (GO)”he states.
According to the researcher, Minas Gerais continues to be the State with the largest area irrigated by central pivots in the country (637 thousand hectares), and Bahia surpassed Goiás, currently occupying 2nd place, with an irrigated area of 404 thousand hectares.
Among Brazilian biomes, more than 70% of irrigation equipment is located in the Cerrado, and only the Pantanal did not record the use of central pivot irrigation in the current survey. More than 70% of irrigation equipment uses water from the Paraná River (37.7%) and São Francisco River (33.1%) river basins.
“The size of irrigated areas and the status of use of this equipment (inactive or cultivated) are fundamental for the efficient management of water resources in the country, in addition to allowing the expansion of this activity in a sustainable way and reducing conflicts over water use”says the researcher.
The majority of Brazilian agricultural production depends on rain
Although Brazil is one of the largest global producers of food, bioenergy and fiber, the majority of its agricultural production is based on rainfed systems, that is, dependent on rainfall. “The Brazilian irrigated area, according to current statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (), corresponds to only 2.6% of the global irrigated area, despite having around 12% of surface water and the largest reserves of underground water (aquifers) on the planet”says Guimarães.
“The total irrigated area in Brazil, of around 9.2 million hectares – including all irrigation systems such as the use of drip, flood and conventional sprinklers, for example – is smaller than the irrigated areas of Iran and Pakistan, 3 times smaller than that of the United States and 8 times smaller than the irrigated areas of China and India”it says.
The main advantages of using irrigation, according to him, are related to the increase in productivity per area (between two and three times compared to non-irrigated crops), quality and stability of production, production in the off-season, in addition to the reduction in pressure to expand the agricultural frontier.
The disadvantage, according to the scientist, is the large consumption of water from springs. Most aquifers are in the process of depletion, where the recharge is less than the volume removed, such as the Ogalalla Aquifer, in the United States, the main source of water for the State of Nebraska, which has the largest irrigated area in that country.
“The lowering of water levels in aquifers poses major challenges for food production in the future, associated with reduced water supply in the long term, higher pumping costs, reduced surface water flows and a tendency towards salinization of groundwater”warn Guimarães and Landau.
According to them, extreme weather events, such as prolonged droughts, heat waves and excessive rainfall, have negatively impacted rainfed agricultural production in Brazil, in addition to causing shocks to the domestic market and exports. “These volatilities inherent to rainfed production have been reflected in the growth trend of irrigated agriculture in Brazil”it says.
In addition to Brazil’s comparative advantages in terms of quantity and quality of surface and groundwater, the National Water Agency monitors water resources and the main sources of consumption. Irrigated agriculture is the main user of these resources, especially in the case of rice and sugar cane irrigation using central pivots.
According to both Embrapa researchers, the central pivot irrigation system shows the greatest growth trend and has been monitored since 1985, through ANA partnerships with Embrapa and other institutions.
With information from .
