Modernization and the evolution of irrigation practices in the Rio Dulce Irrigation Project, Santiago del Estero, Argentina : una tarea de todos

Abstract

The Rio Dulce Irrigation Project (PRD), with its irrigable area of 120000 hectares, is one of the most important irrigation systems in Argentina. It has contributed more than 40% of the gross agriculture product of Santiago del Estero province for many years and supports the livelihoods of more than 50 % of its population. Irrigation in the area of the Rio Dulce started before 1900, first through the spontaneous action of local settlers developing local canals for irrigation for local markets. However, political changes and new commercial possibilities since the beginning of the twentieth century brought a succession of public and private impulses to enlarge and modernize the irrigation system. The economic and political importance of the PRD made the system an "ongoing" project of interventions by provincial and national politics. However, much actual expansion has been shaped by the two main actors in day-to-day activities, an unmotivated agency (in irrigation terms) and private farmer interests.