Irrigation and Rural Change in the Semi-Arid Sertaq of Northeast Brazil
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IRRIGATION AND RURAL CHANGE IN THE SEMI-ARID SERTAQ OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL by Ana Maria de Souza Mello Bicalho Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Bedford College, University of London July, 1985 ProQuest Number: 10098509 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10098509 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT This thesis is an in-depth case study in Rural Geography based on primary data collected in the semi-arid SertSo of Northeast Brazil. The research analyses the impact of the introduction of capitalized irrigation agriculture into an area of traditional dry farming. The resultant social and economic change is evaluated with respect to the resolution of long-standing regional problems of drought, unemployment, poverty and rural exodus. Two types of irrigation systems are compared according to the kind of development strategy involved with each. Private-sector irrigation is based on labour-intensive and intermediate technology and represents a model of development from below at the periphery. Capital-intensive farming methods are utilized in public-sector irrigation in function of the centre-down and urban-industrial biased policies pursued in national and regional economic planning. The study thus addresses a number of questions concerning urban versus rural bias, regional dependency and appropriate technology. Irrigation is found to overcome the environmental and socio economic problems of the SertSo in a satisfactory way while dry farming does not. Private-sector irrigation does this better than public-sector irrigation. This occurs because flexibility in the production schemes employed in the private sector allows a larger number of farmers to adopt irrigation, more full-time jobs to be created, higher income to be earned by both farmers and workers and greater upward social mobility to take place. The use of capital- intensive technology on government projects severely limits the areas where public-sector irrigation can be practised. Furthermore, large amounts of scarce capital are spent on an insignificant number of Sertanejo farmers whose cropping activities are only profitable when highly subsidized. In sum, private-sector irrigation better contributes to lessening the problems of the SertSo and to reducing regional and sectorial imbalance and dependency. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables ............... .. .oc....... 5 List of Figures ....... 9 List of Plates ...... 10 Abbreviations ....... 11 Acknowledgements 12 Chapter 1. Irrigation and the Problems of the Brazilian Semi-Arid Zone ...... 13 Chapter 2. Irrigation and Rural Change ................. 30 Chapter 3• The Dilemma of Drought .............................. 52 Chapter 4. Dry Farming in the Sertao ....... 78 Chapter 5. The Rise of Irrigation in the Northeast ............. 104 Chapter 6. The Environmental Basis for the Practice of Irrigation ........... 138 Chapter 7, The Choice of Irrigation Technology .... 186 Chapter 8. The Economics of Irrigation and Social Change ....... 231 Chpater 9. Irrigation and Rural Change in the SertSo ......... 279 Notes ...... 288 Appendix 1 ........ 290 Appendix 2 ........ 314 Appendix 3 ..... 317 Bibliography ...... 323 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1, Recorded Droughts .............. 54 Table 2, Average Monthly Precipitation in the Study Area ...... 59 Table 3. Percentage of Average Monthly Precipitation which Falls in a 24 Hour Period in the Study Area ....... 59 Table 4. Average Number of Days per Month with Rainfall in the Study Area .......... 60 Table 5. Monthly Average Rainfall and Potential Evaporation in Salgueiro ...... 61 Table 6. Use of Pesticides in Rain-Fed Cropping in the Study Area .«.... ... ..... .. ... ..... ... 88 Table 7, Change in Average Herd Size for Ranchers of the Study Area .............. 90 Table 8. Average Annual Area Planted, Production and Productivity per Farmer in the North of the Study Area ..... 91 Table 9. Average Annual Area Planted, Production and Productivity per Farmer in the South of the Study Area ............ 91 Table 10. Price Index for the Main Farm Products of the Sertao for the Period 1948-1969 ....... 92 Table 11. Price Index for the Main Products of the SertSo for the Period 1969-1982................ 93 Table 12. Average Profit per Hectare for Ranchers in the Study Area .......... 94 Table 13. Average Profit per Hectare for Farmers Exploiting Rain-Fed Cropping in the Study Area ..... 96 Table 14. Average Net Income according to Activity and Farm Size in the Study A r e a ..... 97 Table 15. Change in the Proportion of the Sertanejo Work Force Employed by Sector 101 Table 16. Annual Rate of Population Growth from 1950 to 1980 ..................... 102 Table 17. Expansion of Area under Irrigation between 1960 and 1975 in the Northeast .......... 113 Table 18. Irrigated Area and Farmers Settled on DNOCS Projects in the SertSo ....... 118 Table 19. Irrigated Area According to Type of Farmer on CODEVASF Projects in the Sertâo ....... »...... 119 Table 20. Private-Sector Irrigation Technology in the Study A r e a ....... 124 Table 21. Use of Fertilizers and Pesticides by Private- Sector Irrigation Farmers ...... 133 Table 22. Size of DNOCS Reservoirs Located in the Sert3o ........ 153 Table 23. Irrigation Water Salinity Classification .............. 157 Table 24, Water Salinity in the Study Area ......... 158 Table 25, Quality of the Water in Sampled Public Reservoirs in the Northeast ...... 161 Table 26. Size of Irrigated Area on Private-Sector Farms according to Source of Water ....... 164 Table 27. Irrigation Technology Level on Private-Sector Farms according to Source of Water ........«....... 164 Table 28. Irrigation Soil Salinity Classification ....... 173 Table 29. Soil Salinity according to Years of Irrigation along the Sao Francisco River ..... 174 Table 30. Soil Salinity according to Years of Irrigation along the Tributaries ......... 175 Table 31. Soil Salinity according to Slope on the Sâo Francisco River ..... 179 Table 32. Soil Salinity according to Slope on the Tributaries ..... 180 Table 33. Soil Salinity according to Technology Type along the Sâo Francisco River ......................... 181 Table 34. Soil Salinity according to Technology Type along the Tributaries .................. 182 Table 35. Salinity Tolerance of Irrigated Crops Appropriate for the Study Area ......... 184 Table 36. Distribution of Private-Sector Farms in the Study Area Annual Irrigated Area ................. 190 Table 37. Technology Type according to Farm Size in Private-Sector Irrigation of the Study Area ........... 191 Table 38. Technology Type according to Period of Irrigation for Private-Sector Farms of the Study Area ....... 193 Table 39. Technology Type according to Frequency of Bank Loans in Private-Sector Irrigation of the Study Area ................... 200 Table 40. Frequency of Extension Service according to Farm Size in Private-Sector Irrigation on the Sao Francisco River .... ................ 208 Table 41. Frequency of Extension Service according to Technology Type in Private-Sector Irrigation on the Sâo Francisco River ........ 209 Table 42. Technology Type according to Educational Attainment for Private-Sector Farmers of the Study Area ....... ............ 213 Table 43. Technology Type According to Age of Private- Sector Farmer in the Study Area ......... 218 Table 44. Indicators for the Selection of DNOCS Project Farmers .... ............. ... ........ ... 221 Table 45. Previous Occupation of Project Farmers of the Study Area ..... 222 Table 46. Educational Attainment of Project Farmers of the Study Area ........... 224 Table 47. Age of Farmers upon Entering Projects of the Study Area ...... 226 Table 48. Area Occupied by Staple and Cash Crops in the Principal Irrigation Counties of the Sao Francisco River ..... 234 Table 49. Average Area Planted for Private-Sector Farmers Practising Irrigation and Dry Farming in the Study Area ........ 235 Table 50. Average Production for Private-Sector Farmers Practising Irrigation and Dry Farming in the Study Area ......... 236 Table 51. Average Productivity for Private-Sector Farmers Practising Irrigation and Dry Farming in the Study Area ...... 237 Table 52. Market Orientation^according to Farm Size in Private-Sector Irrigation of the Study Area 240 Table 53. Average Profit per Hectare per Harvest for Private-Sector Irrigation on the Sao Francisco River ............ 241 Table 54. Average Net Income per Farmer for Private- Sector Irrigation Cropping according to Farm Size in the Study Area ........................ 242 Table 55. Average Productivity of Public-Sector Irrigation Farmers ............ 246 Table 56. Average Produce Prices Received by Private and Public Irrigation Farmers ......... 248 Table 57. Average Profit per Hectare per Harvest for Public-Sector Irrigation ......... 250 Table 58. Average Net Income per Public-Sector Irrigation Farmer ..... 251 Table 59. DNOCS Expenditures per Project Farmer and per Irrigated Area ..................