Sertão

The area where the Adapta Sertão network is currently operating is a semi-arid region that is amongst one of the poorest in Brazil. It is characterised by a climate with recurring drought periods and low and irregular precipitation (that can vary between 200 and 1000 mm/year), affecting approximately 2 million families. Of all Brazilians living in poverty, approximately 45% (18 million people) live in this region. Crop agriculture (cassava, maize, beans and green produce) together with cattle agriculture is the primary economy of the region.
Between 20-50% of precipitation in the region occurs in downpours i.e. intense and concentrated rainfalls  (of on average, between 10 minutes and 2 hours in duration), that doesn’t allow the water to infiltrate the soil properly. Since the 1970’s the Brazilian government, together with international organisations such as the World Bank, began to construct hundreds of artificial reservoirs or earth dams In order to take advantage of the water from these downpours with the objective to increase the hydraulic infrastructure of this semi-arid region. These reservoirs were built to collect water for three main objectives: domestic use in the intense drought periods, cattle farming and crop agriculture. However, the latter aim of using water for agriculture was not effective due to the fact that public policies that take into consideration the reality of the semi-arid municipalities do not fulfil yet the needs of small farmers. During the installation of the irrigation systems during the pilot phase of the Pintadas-Solar project, it was possible to identify the main barriers that are limiting the dissemination of efficient irrigation and production systems among small farmers that live in the area:

  • Limited access to technology and technical assistance: Water pumps and drip irrigation systems designed for semi-arid regions exist but the commercial distribution network doesn’t reach these municipalities. Therefore, the technology when it does exist, is expensive. There is also a lack of technical training and assistance to meet local needs.
  • Lack of low cost agricultural inputs:  Drought resistant seeds, soil correctors, the production of organic fertilizers and low cost methods to control insects and fungi are all fundamental tools to maximise effective agricultural production in semi-arid areas.  However, it is rare that government projects support integrated production strategies using these essential tools.
  • Lack of finance and market access mechanisms: The Brazilian government offered subsidised credit through the National Program for Family Farmers (PRONAF). However, unfortunately this was not utilised sufficiently to increase the agricultural production of the family farmer due to the lack of orientation and technical training given to the farmers and to the managers of the rural banks who continue to recommend and support inefficient conventional technologies. Moreover, effective strategies to increase market access and commercialisation for the products produced by small farmers are essential to generate income.

Aside from the points above, the current inefficient agricultural production systems in the semi-arid region have four main consequences:

  • Continued poverty in the region
  • Malnutrition in children living in rural areas
  • The deforestation of the Caatinga
  • Rural migration to urban area which is at the base of many social problems of most large urban areas (i.e., disintegration of the family unit, expansion of urban slums, social disparities, etc...).