Agricultura irrigada, (des) territorialidade e desenvolvimento: um olhar para as contradições socioambientais das áreas irrigadas públicas do território Sertão do São Francisco-BA

Abstract

Irrigation is a very ancient technique practiced by ancient civilizations, especially those that developed on the banks of the great rivers that traverse arid environment and semiaridez. Over time, this technique has been perfected through the assumptions of technical, scientific and currently also informational. In Brazil, irrigated agriculture is booming, moving the country in a decade (1996 -2006), the twenty-third to ninth position on a planetary scale (IICA). In Bahia, irrigation had its public milestone in the 70's, has evolved considerably in planted area and currently ranks fourth among the states in Brazil (IBGE) that irrigate with more uniqueness in fruit, unlike other states that develop based agricultural Seen in monoculture (sugar cane, rice, etc.). The use of this technique in agriculture provides greater independence of rainfall patterns, contributing to the socio-economic integration and development of areas with agricultural potential, but with AE characteristics of water deficiency, as is the situation in the territory wilderness of San Francisco-Ba. The introduction of modern technology in the territory constitutes a question of economic viability. The same was configured as responsible for the increase in the volume of agricultural production and productivity in the fruit segment, highlighting and enhancing agribusiness Bahia, besides the strong evidence that gave this clipping territorial Semiarid Bahia in the international economic arena. It is the aim of analyzing the environmental impact of economic dynamism caused by irrigated agriculture in public areas of the territory wilderness of San Francisco-Ba and its implications on regional development which is the main objective of this work. To develop research and achieve the goal, the methodological procedures used trod the following steps: a) literature, documentary, statistical and cartographic b) field research, with structured questionnaires and unstructured interviews with social and institutional actors, photographic records and on-site observation. Although it recognized the socioeconomic importance of irrigated agriculture to the territory, on the other hand, it was observed that the development of economic activity caused significant socio-territorial and economic transformations. These changes were accompanied by environmental problems and diversities of different intensities. Among them, the most worrying are: deforestation, salinization, erosion, flooding and contamination of natural resources by agrochemical inputs, caused by several factors, namely, the use of irrigation methods, low technological level and agricultural practices outside of ecological patterns. However, actions need to be undertaken to mitigate the severe environmental changes in the territory and minimize the onset of desertification, thus avoiding compromising the sustainability of irrigated areas and therefore the territorial development.