Brazil: Irrigation Survey of the San Francisco River Basin

As part of the development of the north-eastern region of the country, the Government of Brazil has been conducting a comprehensive land and water resources survey of the middle San Francisco River Basin in order to determine the physical and economic feasibility of large-scale irrigation in the area. The project has included a series of reconnaissance soil surveys, hydrologic studies and agricultural investigations for the purpose of selecting sites for experimental farms set up to determine the productive capacity and water requirements of a variety of crops under irrigated conditions and to test the reaction of several soil types to irrigation. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as Executing Agency, is assisting the co-operating government agency - Superintendency for the Development of the North-east (SUDENE) - by providing expert services, equipment and supplies.

A worker inspects the pumping station of the Bebedouro experimental farm on the San Francisco River.