Conagua allocates 16m pesos to Coahuila farmers
Conagua is allocating 16m pesos in federal support for hydro-agricultural works serving farmers and producers in Coahuila. The programme gives priority to infrastructure projects intended to improve the conveyance and delivery of water to productive plots.
The planned works include rehabilitating agricultural wells, lining distribution canals and carrying out corrective maintenance on those channels. The programme also covers the replacement of canal gates and the modernisation of electromechanical pumping equipment. These projects concern infrastructure used to move water through existing agricultural distribution networks.
The stated aim of the engineering works is to reduce water losses caused by seepage and evaporation in traditional conveyance systems. The projects are intended to provide a more regular supply to farmland and to improve the efficiency of water delivery by volume.
Water supply for forage crops
The infrastructure programme is linked to the production of forage crops that support Coahuila’s dairy and livestock activities. The crops identified are alfalfa, maize and forage sorghum, which provide basic inputs for feeding cattle and other livestock.
The text describes improved water infrastructure as a way of giving producers greater certainty when sowing these crops. It also says that more technologically advanced water supply can help farmers manage the effects of prolonged dry periods, protect yields per hectare and stabilise the availability of feed inputs for livestock.
Alongside repairs to shared infrastructure, the initiative promotes advanced on-farm irrigation systems. These include pressurised drip irrigation and micro-sprinkler systems, to be developed in coordination with associations representing users of irrigation modules.
The programme’s description links these technologies with higher biomass productivity per cubic metre of water used. It also presents them as part of the management of overexploited aquifers in the state. The text identifies responsible aquifer management as relevant to environmental sustainability and to the continuation of primary activities in Coahuila’s semi-arid areas.
