The importance of water reservation and irrigation was the theme of the inaugural meeting ‘Sustainable RS: Every Drop Counts’, organized by the Legislative Assembly (AL). The secretaries of Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation (Seapi), Giovani Feltes, and of Rural Development (SDR), Ronaldo Santini, participated in the meeting in Sobradinho, the municipality chosen by the president of the AL, deputy Adolfo Brito, to start the panels of discussion.
Feltes highlighted that irrigation is a subject that needs to be discussed even during rainy periods and that this culture needs to be incorporated into the daily lives of producers so that they know the importance of the topic for productivity.
He also mentioned the State program that gives direct financial incentives to producers who present an irrigation project. The irrigation program provides for the payment of 20% of the project value, limited to R$100,000 per beneficiary.
“Almost three hundred projects have already arrived at the Department of Agriculture and nine of them have already received the Framework Declaration, guaranteeing the resource as soon as water drips onto the plant. Our desire is for society to use this tool, the irrigation program. We want to reach thousands of projects and make this a public State policy. With irrigation we guarantee food security and we can make Brazil the biggest player in food production in the world”, he emphasized.
In his speech, President Brito highlighted the importance of the participation of municipalities in the execution of water reserve and irrigation projects. “It is in the municipality that the implementation of what should mitigate the drought and provide, especially on small rural properties, productivity gains”, he acknowledged.
The President of the Assembly said that the issue is a challenge for the Gaucho parliament in terms of legal viability, due to the existence of environmental problems that need to be changed, but he hopes to present, throughout this year, simple legislation that is easy to apply in interior properties.
Brito encouraged mayors and councilors to work to recognize the importance of irrigation among farmers. “It’s an extraordinary investment at the time, but in a short time it will be reflected in the same planting area”, he encouraged.
Santini, celebrated the proposal of the President of the Assembly. “We must praise this brilliant initiative by deputy Adolfo Brito and fellow parliamentarians, who help us face this issue that is so dear to our State. It is up to all of us, collectively, to face the constraints of what prevents our State from being able to overcome this moment of water insecurity and successive losses that we face” he pointed out. According to the SDR holder, it is not enough to change the laws, we have to change people’s behavioral culture so that they are also prepared to receive and apply these policies. “Water preservation, rational use of water, preservation of springs, construction and predictability of resources to invest in irrigation, this is also part of the success of the business”, concluded Santini.
The event was also attended by senator Luís Carlos Heinze; the mayor of Sobradinho, Armando Mayerhofer; the president of the City Council, Gerson Otávio Schirmer; in addition to the participation of other local and state political authorities.
