Análise comparativa do potencial dos manejos de produção agrícola convencional e orgânica para áreas irrigadas no entorno do reservatório Epitácio Pessoa.

Abstract

For many years agricultural activity has been responsible for the destruction of natural resources. With the improvement of the twentieth century agriculture, and because of the methods used by the Green Revolution, nature has been severely damaged due to the agricultural processes. These processes undoubtedly boosted agricultural production, but represented an increase in environmental difficulties, bringing socioeconomical problems as well, especially in developing countries. This model makes intense use of the soil and water, which accelerates their destruction, especially the levels of soil fertility, bringing about a lack of balance in the natural ecosystems, and thus jeopardizing production in the course of time. As an alternative to the predatory model imposed by conventional agriculture, there comes the paradigm of agricultural sustainability, which proposes development based on the preservation of natural resources and guarantees the use of such resources by future generations. This way, sustainable agriculture can provide safe food for a lot of people, today and in the future. In this context, this work has the objective to foster agricultural planning for long-lasting cultures, with a view to maximizing productive potential, profitability and the use of water resources from the dams for those years when the dry seasons occur. Another objective is to make comparative analyses of places in the country where conventional and organic agriculture takes place, more precisely in areas where family tilling is done close to the public dam called Epitácio Pessoa, in Boqueirão, State of Paraíba, for a period of ten years. We compared the economical benefits (maximization of the profits obtained from the cultures), social benefits (maximization of labour force) and environmental benefits (by reducing the impact caused the use of chemicals), as well as the analysis of how urban demands are met. The data and information added to the optimizing model, based on linear programming, covered hydroclimatic factors, data taken from the dams, data collected from the irrigated perimeters and the irrigation systems used, the characteristics of the crops, as well as economical and socioenvironmental aspects. The results showed that, when agricultural planning was used, the reduced quantity of long-lasting crops allotted in irrigated areas were influenced by hydric deficits of the rainy period observed. With the comparative analysis of the areas, we also noticed the benefit of resorting to organic agriculture as a way to guarantee food safety and sustainability of agricultural production, making it possible for tillers to have a major increase in their profits, as well as the possibility for preservation of natural resources.