Irrigation in Brazil - Investment

Investment

Most Brazilian irrigation development has been carried out by the private sector, with little government support. Government investments have focused on the semi-arid Northeast area, with a high concentration of poor population. More than US$2 billion in public funds have been invested in irrigation works over the past three decades, serving 200,000 ha in the Brazilian semi-arid region, 140,000 ha of which are under production.

Investment costs for settling small farmers in public irrigation projects have averaged US$6,500/ha, including on-farm development and the necessary irrigation equipment. For a farm size of 6.0 ha the investment per family is some US$40,000 on average, not including the cost of agricultural support services and operational subsidies. The cost of public irrigation projects that provide water for large farmers and commercial farming enterprises (only the off-farm, main conveyance system) are considerably lower, depending on the distance of the irrigated area from the water source, the elevation of the command area, and the layout of the schemes. Investment costs of private irrigation development, with short conveyance distances from the source of water to the irrigated areas and low pumping lifts, are usually a fraction of the cost of public schemes and range from less than US$600 to US$3,500/ha, depending on the type of on-farm technology used. Generally, investment costs for private irrigation are higher in the Northeast than in other regions due to more limited access to perennial sources of water.