WATER RESOURCES IN AGRIBUSINESS IN THE INTERMEDIATE REGION PATOS DE MINAS

Abstract

The availability of water in the Brazilian territory directly contributes to the country being one of the largest food exporters in the international market. However, due to the unequal geographical distribution of water, among other aspects, not all Federation Units have highly productive regions. In Minas Gerais, for example, five Intermediate Geographic Regions represent the core of Minas Gerais agribusiness. In this context, this study aims to analyze how water resources are distributed and their use in agribusiness in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Patos de Minas. The methodological approach consisted of a bibliographic survey. After analysis, it can be inferred that the referred Region comprises 34 municipalities, part of which are inserted in the largest area of central pivot irrigation in the country, in addition to housing two of the three largest irrigating municipalities in Brazil, namely, Unaí and Paracatu. As for the distribution of water resources, in general, all municipalities have river courses that provide high cultivation of grains and other products, as well as the production of milk and dairy products.