Producers from DF and Goiás will receive incentives to conserve water

On World Water Day, farmers in the Descoberto river basin, located on the border between the Federal District and Goiás, are encouraged to adopt sustainable practices in the use of water and soil. The Descoberto Water Producers program aims to strengthen the structure of the water basin by increasing the water storage capacity in the soil. 

Rural producers who join the program will receive cash payments for the environmental services provided. It is remuneration for the increase of water to the streams and watercourses that supply Descoberto. The basin is responsible for around 70% of the water consumed by the population of the Federal District and in 2017 it reached the critical level of 5,3% of its water volume. 

The technical cooperation agreement that creates the program was signed by the 17 partner institutions at an event held on the 22nd, including ANA, responsible for the project; Water, Energy and Basic Sanitation Regulatory Agency of the Federal District (Adasa); environmental secretariats of DF (Sema) and Goiás (and Semad); sanitation companies (Caesb and Saneago); and Embrapa Cerrados. The vice-governor of the DF, Paco Britto, and the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado, also signed the document.

Jorge Enoch Werneck Lima, director of Adasa, emphasizes that the organized action of the various institutions that signed the agreement is essential for the success of the project: “This way it will be possible to implement the actions and encourage producers in various ways to implement good agricultural practices and use water more rationally”.

The participation of rural producers

Joining the program is voluntary. Interested farmers must register for the notices that will be released by the National Water Agency (ANA). Those registered will receive technical guidance, based on an individual property project. 

There are several practices that can be adopted by rural producers to reduce surface runoff of rainwater: terracing, construction of dams (small excavations in the soil that help water infiltration and prevent erosion), adaptation of rural roads, fencing of springs , planting riparian forests, rural sanitation, among others.

The technical monitoring of the program will be the responsibility of Embrapa Cerrados and the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the Federal District (Emater-DF). “Embrapa’s role in the program is, in accordance with the identified demands, to provide the best practical recommendations for soil management and conservation, focusing on the quality and water supply of the basin, both in the agricultural production environment and in the recovery environmental. It is also the opportunity to contribute to an important public policy and promote the implementation of payment for environmental services”, informs the general head of Embrapa Cerrados, Cláudio Karia, who participated in the project's creation ceremony.

The implementation of conservation practices and the planting of trees guarantee the infiltration of water into the soil and control erosion and, thus, combat the siltation of lakes, rivers and watercourses. “The soil around the basin has a very large capacity to store water. Conservation practices allow for an increase in quality and quantity in the region, which ends up being reflected in the reservoir. When we improve water infiltration in rural areas upstream of the reservoir, we will have more water to meet supply demands”, guarantees Devanir Garcia dos Santos, manager of Sustainable Use of Water and Soil at ANA.

The Pipiripau basin experience

Since 2012, producers in the basin that forms the border between the DF and the municipalities of Formosa and Planaltina de Goiás (GO) have had the opportunity to participate in the Water Producers program. Currently, 177 rural producers in the region are hired and receive payment for environmental services. 

As a result, more than a thousand dams were implemented, terracing was carried out on more than 400 hectares and the readjustment of 134 kilometers of roads, in addition to the production and planting of 360 thousand native reforestation seedlings, as reported in the book The Experience of the Water Production Project in the Ribeirão Pipiripau Hydrographic Basin, available for download on the Adasa website. 

“Today we have 1/3 of Pipiripau producers involved in the project. Payment for environmental services is an additional incentive for producers to adopt good practices and help us preserve the water resources of the basin”, explains Jorge Enoch, adding that other gains are the increase in productivity in these areas and the adhesion of producers as project partners.

The Water Producer program was developed by ANA and today there are 76 projects underway throughout Brazil.

During the ceremony, the governor of Goiás Ronaldo Caiado signed the decree that creates the Águas Lindas State Park, with 2.100 hectares, which will also help protect the Descoberto reservoir.

Program partner institutions: National Water Agency (ANA); State Secretariat for the Environment of the Federal District (Sema); Water, Energy and Basic Sanitation Regulatory Agency of the Federal District (Adasa); Environmental Sanitation Company of the Federal District (Caesb); State Secretariat for Agriculture, Supply and Rural Development of the Federal District (Seagri); Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the Federal District (Emater-DF); Institute of the Environment and Water Resources of the Federal District (Ibram); Department of Environment and Sustainable Development of Goiás (Semad); Saneamento de Goiás S/A (Saneago); Municipality of Águas Lindas de Goiás (GO); Municipality of Padre Bernardo (GO); Department of Roads and Highways of the Federal District (DER/DF); Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa); National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra); Central-West Development Superintendence (Sudeco); Ecological Agriculture Association (AGE); Association of Producers and Protectors of the Descoberto River Basin (Pró-Descoberto); International Center for Water and Transdisciplinarity (CIRAT); The Nature Conservancy of Brazil (TNC); WWF-Brazil.