Economic of the irrigated production of forage millet

Abstract

Irrigation is an agricultural technique that increases crop yield and reduces periods of forage shortage. However, this technique increases production costs, and the process is economically viable only when costs are lower than the financial return. Determining the technical and financial viability of irrigation is essential to assess the feasibility of forage production systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the technical and financial viability of irrigated producing of forage millet in different growing seasons in two microregions of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The water requirements of the growing seasons of 2012 to 2017 in the microregions of Santiago and Santa Maria varied and affected the cost of irrigation. The irrigated production of forage millet increased the total average cost by 13.42% and increased the financial return by 43.03% and 22.49% in Santiago and Santa Maria, respectively.