In Quinta da Chholda, in the district of Azinhaga, Golega, resources such as water are managed through technology. This practice has proven that it is possible to produce more with less and with less environmental impact.
This is confirmed by João Coimbra, a managing farmer who, about two decades ago, began implementing precision farming on a farm that has been in the family for four generations.
Without hiding that the goal is to reduce costs and increase production, since, as he explained to Luce, it is essential that farmers have a decent income and that the country becomes increasingly self-sufficient in terms of food, Joao Coimbra emphasized the positive impact on sustainable use of water resources and reduce the use of fertilizers, especially as the effects of climate change become more apparent.
Surrounded by cornfields, a crop that requires heat and water, this “model farm” in the Santarém district can currently reduce water consumption by 30-50%. 600 ha of production compared to the period using gravity irrigation.
“In addition to reducing the amount we use per hectare, what we achieve is that we produce much more with this water. Today we get twice as much as we produced 15, 20 years ago with the help of technology, time,” Lusa said.
To conserve water, its “primary” resource, Quinta da Chholda uses sensors and weather stations to measure humidity, wind speed and temperature, and satellites to provide an “X-ray” of water demand at each site. . . .
“All this gives us the answer to what we need to know: how much water do I need to apply to get the best possible result with the least amount of energy, fertilizer, etc., and water is fundamental because it is crucial”, he decided.
Pointing out that Portugal has a “terrible climate for growing when it rains” because it is cold in winter and plants do not produce in the cold, João Coimbra emphasized that it is necessary to “pump” the water that comes in winter. for summer use.
“To do this, we need to build more dams, we need to hold more water, we need to make sure that water seeps into our soils better. This is our job. can use this water again in the summer and so, in addition to dams and the ability to infiltrate the soil, we are trying to have more water to produce more food,” he said.
With precision agriculture, he said, it is possible to “manage scarcity” and use available water with “the greatest possible care” because it is a boon that a country cannot “afford to waste”.
João Coimbra noted that the information collected in Quinta da Chholda is made available to all farmers through AGROMAIS, a cooperative of grain and vegetable farmers, and ANPROMIS (National Association of Maize and Sorghum Producers).
“For example, every week a farmer can rely on this information and adapt it to their irrigation systems,” he said, stressing that even “less tech” farmers can turn to tools “that help them make the right decisions.”
“There is a lot of equipment,” he said, citing the example of using satellites that provide “information about what crops need this particular week,” or collective weather stations, information that a cooperative and association provides to farmers.
“This is an outstanding achievement, because today farmers, even without careful monitoring, can know the needs of their plants. […] and at the same time we save a lot of water,” he said.
On the other hand, providing Czolda as a “fifth model”, he says, fills a gap in knowledge transfer that has been taken over by the state in the past.
“Our farm offers to visit other farmers, and we do this to try to talk about these methods and so that people stop being afraid of change and modernization,” he said, emphasizing that it is in research that one can realize that “it is not at all difficult and not very difficult to implement.”
“Many times you don’t need to make big investments, but you need to slightly change the attitude towards the same problems that we all have, namely savings, the need to have a functioning economy so that the farmer has a decent income. And you can pass it on to the farmers today […]each in their own way, each at their own pace,” he added.
For João Coimbra, it is important that this and other good practice models be replicated so that Portuguese farmers are “increasingly prepared to face climate change and the new challenges that lie ahead.”
According to him, the work carried out at Quinta da Chholda is carried out in close cooperation with the Academy on the basis of a mutually beneficial relationship.
“On this farm, we cooperate with almost all universities that deal with agriculture, energy, and the environment. The environment is becoming more and more of a problem. At the same time, when we have to try to produce food, we have to protect the territory and ecosystems, and often the farmer is not prepared, not trained and ready to learn,” he said.