Optimization of the use of water resources in irrigation: a case study in Araçagi Dike-State Of Paraíba

Abstract

Irrigated agriculture consumes more water each day due to its increase use for food production. Water resources are available irregularly, varying from region to region. This feature becomes more visible in the northeastern semi-arid region, where rainfall is low and irregular, making agricultural development difficult. In this way, it is impracticable to use the water in a continuous and indefinite way, without a strategic planning for the preservation of water availability and quality. It is possible to establish strategies for the adequate use of this resource in irrigated agriculture, evaluating the possibility of tools that can contribute to the direction of a planned agriculture optimizing the natural resources. In this context, the objective of this work is to optimize the use of water through the efficiency of its application in irrigation, providing productivity gains without compromising the availability of this resource. The paper intents the evaluation of the water use from a given Araçagi Dike, state of Paraíba, Brazil, accomplished in the EXCEL software. The methodology applied was the Linear Programming in Optimization and the results obtained show that the water available is bigger than the consumption of the producer, and this way it is possible to increase its production with this water availability or to minimize the amount of water available. It is still possible to verify that the water granted can be used in a more efficient way, as well as, the process of making water granting available can be better evaluated by the grantor, looking at a future water security.