The NGO Practical Solutions has organized, with the support of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), through the Integral Project Water Management in Family Agriculture (GIAAF), the virtual course “Best practices and technological innovations in planting and water harvesting “. Its purpose, disseminate successful experiences of Brazil and Paraguay on the management of soil, water and vegetation cover as a way to mitigate the effects of drought and combat desertification.
Participated in this initiative promoters, community leaders and workers of various public and private entities who had the opportunity to meet new resources to develop actions that favor territorial water recharge and water harvesting for the benefit of family farming.
At the meeting, the IICA Representative in Brazil, Hernan Chiriboga, shared the experience of the Department Presidente Hayes Paraguayan Chaco, semiarid region where small and medium farmers have suffered poor rainfall caused by global warming.
In this region was implemented a system of channels and ridges that collect water and channel it into a reservoir, which can provide water for irrigation and domestic use for 200 families during 240 days of drought.
Another technology used is the construction of systems to capture rainwater from the roofs of houses, collecting and driving gutters and storage tanks.
As explained by the coordinator of the technical area of Agriculture, Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Adaptation to Climate Change IICA, Gertjan Beekman, in the region of Irauçuba, Ceará, northeast of Brazil, tanks rural were used to store rainwater trickling from the roofs of houses and brackish desalination to transform fed by water from aquifers in sedimentary and crystalline formations wells.
As long-term measures containment barriers were constructed to retain sediments generated by erosion in cultivated areas, which prevents loss of nutrients and soil fertility, caused by improper practices.
Other technology at the service of a more sustainable family farming applications were efficient irrigation systems to use clay pots, planting fruit and vegetable seeds to produce food with little water use, development of agro-ecological practices and demonstration nurseries for cultivation of fruit trees and ornamental plants for environmental restoration.
To Chiriboga and Beekman, the integrated management of water resources is fundamental to the efficient management of crops to contribute to food security, sustainability, productivity and competitiveness of agriculture.
The experiences developed under the “Econormas” project, which is implemented by IICA, seek improvement and transfer of knowledge and the means to help combat desertification and drought, through actions that contribute to educate and inform on good agricultural practices, to train agricultural professionals and improve the quality of life of populations in critical regions of the MERCOSUR countries.
Source: IICA
