Irrigation boosts sustainable agriculture in MS

Irrigation grew 63% between 2015 and 2024 in Mato Grosso do Sul. The data presented in the State Irrigation Program demonstrates the state's potential for agricultural expansion using renewable resources.

According to figures from the Agribusiness Geographic Information System (Siga-MS) - a project carried out by the Mato Grosso do Sul Soybean Producers Association (Aprosoja/MS) in partnership with the State Government and the National Water Agency (ANA), Mato Grosso do Sul has more than 320 thousand irrigated hectares, with emphasis on fertigation, responsible for 64% of the total, followed by other irrigation systems which, together, account for 36% of the total irrigated area.

Fertigation systems using self-propelled cannons or reels are mainly used in sugarcane crops. The main crops irrigated by the central pivot system include annual crops such as soybeans and corn, which account for 73% of the area irrigated with this system, equivalent to 84 thousand hectares; followed by pastures, rice and sugarcane. There are currently 902 central pivot units, distributed across 53 of the 79 municipalities in the state.

The State Irrigation Program and ANA indicate that Mato Grosso do Sul has the potential to expand irrigated agriculture by 4,7 million hectares, of which 1,67 million can be intensified with surface water and another 2,86 million degraded pasture areas converted to irrigated agriculture.

The technical coordinator of Aprosoja/MS, Gabriel Balta, says that the use of the state's potential for irrigated agriculture has placed the state among the largest grain producers in Brazil. “Irrigation plays a fundamental role in the expansion and productive stability of Mato Grosso do Sul, especially during dry periods. Through these systems, areas that were previously unviable for agricultural production have become viable, enabling the cultivation of grains, increasing the profitability of properties and boosting local, regional and state development in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner,” reflects Balta.

With irrigation, farmers are less dependent on surface water sources, such as rivers and lakes. This is the case of the director of Aprosoja/MS, a rural producer in the southern region of the state, Lucio Damália. “We are in what we call a climate transition zone, and we have been having many long dry spells lately, with these climate changes that bother everyone. I once went 84 days without rain, which is fatal for any crop. And when you have the option of using irrigation, you don’t solve 100% of the problems, but you can maintain your average productivity. I opted for underground irrigation, which is a system that allows you to irrigate 100% of the area, allows fertigation, mainly with urea, and you can divide your irrigation”, says Damália.

By 2030, the state government plans to expand the irrigated area by 40%, through actions to promote infrastructure, financing lines from the Constitutional Fund for Financing the Central-West (FCO) Irrigation, tax reductions for the acquisition of equipment and integration between public and private entities for the dissemination of technologies.

Water resources

The state benefits from two important river basins: the Paraná River, which covers 47,46% of the area, and the Paraguay River, which covers 52,54%. In addition, Mato Grosso do Sul is home to the Guarani Aquifer, the largest freshwater reserve in South America and one of the largest in the world, covering an area of ​​approximately 213.700 km² in Brazil.