More than 2,300 tons of agricultural items were produced in 2023 in a Codevasf irrigated project in Northern Bahia

The São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys Development Company (Codevasf) reported this Wednesday (24) that the Curaçá, Mandacarú, Maniçoba, Salitre and Tourão irrigation projects, located in the North of Bahia, produced, in 2023, around of 2.3 thousand tons of agricultural items. Among the crops, the highlights were mango, sugar cane and grapes.

According to Codevasf, with 981 producers – most of them family members –, the irrigated projects recorded a gross production value (VBP) of R$1.1 billion, with a cultivated area of ​​31.7 thousand hectares. The data comes from the production balance of the Company’s Irrigation and Operations Area, which also accounted for the mark of 90 thousand jobs created – direct, indirect and induced – in the period.

“Codevasf’s irrigated projects in Juazeiro are largely responsible for the socioeconomic transformation of the entire region. The numbers are fantastic in terms of production, gross production value and job creation. This result is extremely gratifying, as it shows that investments of this nature transform people’s lives, generate employment and income, improve the quality of life of rural people and reduce social inequalities”, says the regional superintendent of Codevasf in Juazeiro, Miled Cussa Son.

The report by producer Edson Gomes, an irrigator on the Salitre project, in Juazeiro, confirms the importance of irrigated projects for the region. “I started my professional experience in the area with grape planting, around 10 years ago. Currently, I have already expanded the business with banana cultivation. Salitre was an opportunity for me and others who, like me, arrived here in the region to invest. From this economic activity, I had several professional and personal achievements”, he explains.

Total balance of irrigation projects

The production of public irrigation projects maintained by Codevasf along the São Francisco valley reached 4.11 million tons of food in 2023. There was a 4% growth in cultivated areas, which supported 343.2 thousand direct, indirect and induced jobs. During the period, the VBP reached R$5.48 billion, with emphasis on fruit growing.

In total, in 2023, 71.8 thousand tons of food were produced more than in 2022. According to an analysis by Codevasf, the increase in production was well distributed between crops and irrigation projects. The main crops, in terms of VBP, were grapes, mangoes and bananas.

In relation to the area cultivated in Codevasf irrigation projects, in 2023 a growth of 4% was recorded. In total, 120.8 thousand hectares were cultivated, in which 16 thousand producers worked. In relation to the previous year, an increase of 4.1 thousand hectares was recorded.

The increase in VBP was around R$914 million. According to Codevasf analysts, this is a result of the increase in average prices for grape and mango crops. As these crops have a large representation within the public irrigation projects maintained by the Company, the variation in price strongly impacts the total VBP.

The greatest increase in VBP was seen in the public irrigation project Nilo Coelho, located between the municipalities of Petrolina (PE) and Casa Nova, in the Petrolina/Juazeiro irrigation hub. The growth of VBP in the area was around R$700 million. Other irrigated projects that stood out were Maniçoba and Curaçá, located in Juazeiro, which registered an increase of R$140 million and R$82 million, respectively.

Codevasf’s irrigation projects also have livestock and aquaculture activities, which reached production of 14 thousand tons with items such as fish, milk, meat and shrimp. The VBP achieved in this category was R$76.8 million, with emphasis on projects located in western Bahia, Sergipe and Alagoas.

In total, the Company maintains 39 Public Irrigation Projects. There are 29 projects in production implemented and maintained by Codevasf in Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Sergipe and Alagoas, in addition to ten other projects implemented by the São Francisco Hydroelectric Company (Chesf) in the 1990s, where families residing in the area where The lake at the Luiz Gonzaga (PE) hydroelectric plant was formed. These projects are jointly identified as Sistema Itaparica and are located between Pernambuco and Bahia.