Between 2022 and 2023, 247 students from agricultural high schools and 1,133 farmers in the region have been trained in topics such as irrigation fundamentals, management and maintenance of localized irrigation equipment, innovative technological solutions in the use of water at the farm level, among others. This is a result of the "innovation program in the efficient use of water resources for small-scale agriculture in the Maule region" that INIA has implemented thanks to the support of the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA).
The mega-drought that has plagued the Maule region for 14 years has caused serious complications for agriculture, especially in the summer months when irrigation has been reduced. According to experts, the main problem is not so much the water shortage but the poor use of water, since many farmers continue to use inefficient irrigation methods, such as overhead irrigation or hose irrigation.
In response to this situation, INIA and the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIA), the Innovation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, launched the innovation program for the efficient use of water resources, which included training aimed at small farmers in the region and students from technical high schools. “Thanks to this initiative and the support during its implementation with theoretical and practical talks, it has been possible to enhance the learning and practical knowledge of technical irrigation in students, generating awareness of the importance of the good use and management of water resources in agriculture,” said Irenio Valladares, irrigation teacher at the Federico Heise High School in Parral.
Carolina Órdenes, an Agricultural Engineer with a specialization in water resources, was the coordinator of the training sessions. Carolina comments that during the beginning of the program, information was collected from different producers in the region, which indicated that many did not have a technical irrigation system. In addition, among the beneficiaries of some program who already had the system installed, a group had stopped using it because they did not have knowledge of management and maintenance.
“73% of available fresh water is used by agriculture” -says Carolina- “And most of it isn’t even benefiting crops. Agriculture faces significant water challenges, including scarcity, overexploitation of water resources and the impacts of climate change.” For this reason, a massive training plan was carried out that involved farmers from different areas of the region and students from the Sagrados Corazones High School in Villa Alegre, the Marta Martínez Cruz High School in Yerbas Buenas, the Federico Heise Marti High School in Parral and the Simón Bolívar High School in Curicó. “These young people have the ability to become agents of change, promoting more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices in their future work.” explains Orders.
In this regard, the FIA Regional Representative in El Maule, Robert Giovanetti, stated that “From our institutional perspective, this program will be a great contribution, since in recent years there has been a sustained decrease in rainfall, which has caused different producers to have a low availability of water for irrigation. This new reality requires innovation in the implementation of technological solutions that allow for more efficient use of water, mainly in AFC, who often do not have knowledge of the new technologies and infrastructures that act as tools to face this challenge. It should be noted that, due to the importance of this program for all its technical and methodological aspects, this initiative is also being replicated in the regions of Atacama, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Metropolitana and Ñuble.”
The program, which will conclude next September, will hold a closing seminar to analyze the results and achievements attained.“We invite those interested in the subject to attend this event, with which we seek to raise awareness about the water deficit and its impacts on regional agriculture. At INIA we are always interested in contributing to the sector with technical knowledge, and in recent years we have carried out a lot of work on climate change and water resources. We will have informative talks and it will be open access upon registration.” The regional director of INIA Raihuén, Carmen Gloria Morales Alcayaga, invited. For more information or registration, write to [email protected].
