Integrated territorial intelligence systems in the management of water resources and their importance for the sustainable development of agriculture

The following is an article that appeared in Brazil’s AIBA Rural Magazine (pages 24-26), translated from Portuguese to English.

Held on November 20, 2019, at the Science and Technology Commission of the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, in Brasília, a public hearing on “Integrated systems of territorial intelligence in the management of surface and underground water resources and their importance for the sustainable development of irrigated agriculture in western Bahia ”. The event brought together rural producers, environmentalists, scholars and researchers on water resources and sustainable production. The Bahia Farmers and Irrigators Association (Aiba), through its Environment and Irrigation Directorate, and the Aiba Institute represented the Bahian farmer, who has shown concern in producing with sustainability. Aiba is one of the supporters of the study that quantifies and qualifies water availability for multiple uses in western Bahia.

The study is coordinated by the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) and has the support of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ); Water for Food Institute of the University of Nebraska (USA) and the government of Bahia, through the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Seagri), Secretariat of Environment (Sema), Secretariat of Water Infrastructure and Sanitation (SIHS) and the Institute of Environment and Water Resources (Inema). After the opening of the works by the president of the Science and Technology Commission, deputy Félix Mendonça Júnior, the holder of Seagri, secretary Lucas Costa, -came the importance of the debate on this topic for the sustainability of the agricultural sector and mentioned as an example the project and the monitoring and management of the water resources of Nebraska, which is done in a rational and intelligent way. Discussions like these will improve our water use systems in western Bahia and help expand agriculture with sustainability.Eduardo Topázio, director of Águas do Inema, representing Bahia's Secretary of Environment, João Carlos Oliveira , emphasized the importance of conducting the project for water security and sustainability in the western region of Bahia, mentioned that he was in Nebraska, where the governance system is important in decision making. He pointed out that the western region is privileged by water resources and the Urucuia aquifer, important for maintaining the São Francisco Basin. According to Topazio, “the implementation of the basin plans and their studies are the fundamental instruments to establish policies for the rational use of water, especially for irrigated agriculture, since the basin plan has the broad participation of basin committees, water users, civil society and local government. In addition, the expansion of the monitoring network, especially the hydrological network, and the partnership with different institutions and with farmers ”

Topazio also pointed out that “the study conducted in the western region of Bahia can bring tranquility to know the water potential of the region, removing this discussion from the emotional field and from thinking, as it gives us greater security in availability of water resources.”

The research director, Christopher Neale, explained about the Water for Food Institute, which was created 10 years ago with the mission of promoting water and food security with a focus on scientific areas and agricultural production in Nebraska and who collaborate with universities, state governments and federal governments in different countries. Nebraska is an essentially agricultural state and stands out in second place in the production of ethanol, and third place in the production of corn, disputing with the state of Texas the first place in the production of beef. Soy also stands out as a great crop. According to Neale, "the state of Nebraska is the one that irrigates the most, with a total of 3.4 million hectares, and most of the water comes from the Ogallala aquifer, however there has been effective and progressive monitoring since the 1970s". According to him, there is a regional governance of groundwater, divided by districts, where farmers are elected by their peers and the local population to represent several districts, forming the governance council for the common good of that society. "The council can impose a moratorium to drill wells and determine a policy for pumping water and control the application of the water layer by district, according to the Ogallala water level."

The lessons they learned in Nebraska over the years, Neale pointed out, were a collection of quality and transparent data that generate a trusting environment for the governance of water use among the entities that regulate the use and farmers. Another effective control is being carried out over surface water resources regulated by the State Department of Natural Resources, which requires districts to have an integrated water resources plan to prove that water is in balance for both Nebraska and other states. In this way, the success of the management of water resources that gives sustainability to the aquifer Ogallala is based on rigorous monitoring and governance of water use. The economic impact of irrigation is visible in Nebraska, as 24% of people are linked to the activity of agriculture, which, in turn, generates 290 thousand jobs. This activity is responsible for 27% of the State's economy, estimated at approximately U $ 22 billion per year. Marcos Heil Costa, professor at the Department of Agricultural Engineering at UFV, stressed that the key word of the study is “territorial intelligence” sustainable development of irrigated agriculture in the region. The objective, he said, is to gather and consolidate data and information that is easily accessible, in order to generate essential knowledge for planning and decision-making at the territory scale. For this, an online platform was created OBAHIA (Western Bahia System), which centralizes and makes available clear information produced by UFV and other public institutions, such as the National Water Agency (ANA), Mineral Resources Research Company (CPRM), Ministry Environment and other partners. On this site you can check the pattern of land use, expansion of irrigation, areas with remnants of native vegetation, areas of legal reserve, areas of permanent preservation (APP), among others, allowing continuous management. a territorial management tool is being developed that aims to integrate information from different databases for development decision making, including agroforestry activities, topography, climate risk, environmental issues such as the adequacy of the forest code and areas protected, availability of water resources (surface and underground), infrastructure conditions, electricity, highways, waterways, among others, in order to analyze the feasibility of the investment. Everardo Mantovani, professor in the Department of Agricultural Engineering at UFV, coordinator of the study, highlighted that water resource management needs to be understood in its various forms of use, such as agriculture, urban, industrial, energy, aquatic ecosystems, energy -gia and leisure. According to Mantovani, there is an interaction in the different uses of water resources. In this context, he points out, it is necessary to understand the availability to adequately serve all sectors. He points out that the basics for planning and executing the use of water resources is to study availability and effective monitoring. Irrigated agriculture is one of the most important factors for regional development and food production. Several studies in the world show that without irrigated agriculture it is not possible to close the binomial of food production. In tropical agriculture, seasonal cy-clos are determined by the availability of water, while in temperate countries the determinant is temperature and water, where they only get one crop a year. Still according to Mantovani, irrigation, associated with technology allows to break the cycle of one crop per year, in the western region of Bahia, for continuous harvests, and with this the generation of jobs, income, and the collection of taxes occurs and greater regional development. “When we study water resources, especially the shared use of water, we see that irrigation is one of the few investments that can guarantee great development in the region”. The west region of Bahia has important basins, such as Rio Grande, Carinhanha and Rio Corrente, where several rivers permeate and the Urucuia aquifer that needs to be studied and monitored in order to know the availability of water for different uses , including irrigation. From the point of view of agriculture, in the west of Bahia, it has 2.4 million cultivated hectares, where only 8% (1,790 pivots) are irrigated agriculture. The 8% of irrigated area generates 34% of the Gross Value of Production, showing the efficiency of the irrigation practiced, as it allows to obtain up to 5 harvests in two years; there is a consolidated agricultural area that allows great growth, where the main limiting factor is the study of water availability. In this scenario, the Water Potential Study of the western region of Bahia, initiated in 2017 with the support of Prodea-gro, was divided into four areas (surface water, groundwater, land use and occupation and climate and governance), and can contribute effectively to outline future scenarios of equitable development for the region, through the implementation of integrated systems of territorial intelligence, in the management of land use and occupation, and of surface and underground water resources.