Study and technical feasibility of the use of rainwater for the vegetable irrigation process in the Pernambucano semiarid

Abstract

In semiarid regions, water scarcity has been an issue that has been discussed for a long time. Assessing the need for its use in irrigation, it is evident that insufficient water becomes a limiting factor in economic development and in the local quality of life. In this context, the storage of rainwater makes it possible to maintain subsistence agriculture during dry periods. This work is a literature review that analyzes different studies on the technical feasibility and effectiveness of using rainwater in the irrigation process in vegetable plantations in the semiarid region of Pernambuco. The results show an effective supply in the irrigation of crops when cisterns are used to reserve rainwater. Thus, insufficient rainfall demand in the semiarid region has no potential to affect food production when the technique is adopted. Taking into account the history of low rainfall in the Brazilian semiarid region, the technique addressed in this study has become common over the years. In terms of irrigation efficiency, when we take into account the ratio between the amount of water actually used by the crop and the amount withdrawn from the source, worldwide, is still very low, standing, on average, around 37%. Data show that an improvement of only 1% in the efficiency of water use in irrigation has the capacity to generate savings of 200 thousand liters of water per farmer, per hectare/year in developing countries with a semiarid climate. As a result of the use of the technique in the thesis studied, the economy generated by it and the dispensability of complex treatments for the use of stored rainwater, it is possible to identify the motivation on the part of small producers in the semiarid northeast of Brazil to preferentially use it for the irrigation of vegetables.