The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MPLS), Blairo Maggi, said on Tuesday (20) at the World Water Forum that 90% of agricultural production in the country uses rainwater. According to him, only 10% of the sector uses water captured by irrigation systems.
“Water is recycled in the [agricultural] process, there is no water export. Sometimes they say they need 15,000 liters of water to make a pound of meat. That’s not true, it’s an urban legend. It is something that started and continues to be said and has no scientific explanation. The truth is that the pound of meat does not carry a pound of water. We do agriculture in Brazil without irrigation, it’s just a natural use of the rains we have, “said Maggi, closing the debates of the Water Panel for Agriculture and Food Production.
Technology
The president of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Maurício Lopes, stressed that Brazilian agricultural production in the last 40 years has been based on technological processes. “Technology has helped us intensify land use and ensured the balance between conserving our biomes and the country’s ability to continue producing food. The way to get there was a major investment in knowledge generation, training and capacity building, “he said.
Mauricio Lopes also pointed out the system developed by Embrapa specialists, used in crops, livestock and forest as one of the solutions to preserve the soil and produce water. “It’s a way to keep the soil protected 365 days a year, ensuring the replenishment of our water reserves and groundwater in agriculture that is essentially water-producing,” he said.
For Lopes, the challenge in Brazil is to bring technology and information to areas that do not yet have access to modern agricultural and livestock production systems. “We still have regions in Brazil where poor agriculture prevails, which has difficulty accessing this knowledge and information. We have to work to help this agriculture, to be on the spot. In the region of Brazil most in need in water, the Brazilian Northeast, our company has been making a series of efforts to bring knowledge and technology, “he said.