Irrigated Agriculture

Abstract

Consumptive water use in Chile is dominated by irrigation with 82% of consumptive water use. The agricultural sector in Chile has continuously grown in the past 30 years, often at a rate greater than the rest of the Chilean economy and, thus, the value of water in irrigation has remained high. There is an incentive for the adoption of water saving technologies by farmers (Law No. 18,450). This program subsidizes small scale, private irrigation investments and WUA distribution channel systems. It has supported much of the installation of drip irrigation systems in the dry north and spray systems in the humid south. There are estimates that at present about 30% of agriculture uses water conservation technologies, concentrated in the northern water scarce agricultural regions. However, irrigated agriculture faces challenges due to climate change and growing water stress due to economic and population growth. In response, Law No. 18,450 was reformed to incentive private investments to increase water storage and improve distribution, with a total investment cap of US $ 10.2 million. This chapter presents an overview of Chile’s irrigation and investment support program and identifies its actual challenges.