A crise hídrica na agricultura familiar em Piedade/SP

Abstract

The State of São Paulo presents a worrying situation in relation to the water support capacity, especially in the metropolitan regions that are around the capital. This situation got more evident in the years 2014 and 2015, when there was a climatic exceptionality in the Southeast Region of Brazil, which resulted in deficits of rain and consequent drought in the state. In the Paulista Macrometrópole, the effects of drought were accentuated by the existing conditions in water resources, resulting in an unprecedented water crisis. However, the water crisis also had an effect on agricultural production in the macro-metropolitan region, with consequences for the vegetable market, especially for leafy vegetables, which is regional, affecting, for example, the lettuce and cabbage crop. This was the case of the municipality of Piedade, located in the metropolitan region of Sorocaba, and which is an important supplier of vegetables to São Paulo, Campinas and Sorocaba. In this municipality, agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the economy, being mostly composed of family farmers. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the water crisis that occurred in 2014 and 2015 in Piedade / SP, its relationship with family farming and water management in the hydrographic basin. The hypothesis assumed in this paper is that water scarcity can weaken family farming in Piedade.Therefore, to carry out the research, the case study method was adopted with two lines of investigation, the documentary and bibliographic research and semi-structured interviews with farmers and local managers. Data analysis was performed through content analysis. The results showed that the water crisis that occurred in the municipality of Piedade, back in 2014 and 2015, was the result of the combination of climatic factors and the increase in water use, mainly due to the use of irrigation in agricultural production, which were accentuated by the degradation of water resources and the lack of infrastructure for the public water supply system. The conditions that led to the situation of water crisis in the period were little changed, indicating that the risk of water scarcity remains in the municipality, representing a threat to the municipality's economy and the maintenance of family farming.