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Liquid Capital

Water price and energy cost


Many large enterprises ignore environmental protection rules to expand their acreage, and also made very handsome profits. Irrigation water cost is negligible for large-scale agribusiness, but too expensive for small-scale farmers. This is also the process by which intensive agriculture is gradually replacing small agriculture and capitalizing agriculture.



Average Water Price in Irrigation Blocks around Beja


In the time axis, the expansion of the irrigation area is directly related to land use change, and the infraction area also increases. We have calculated that the price of irrigation water around Beja is higher compared to earlier irrigation areas.   This average value is closely related to water transport cost and water consumption amount and also causes great economic pressure on small-scale farmers.


2010
2013

2011

2016

20122017

Irrigation block expansion in 2010-2017 and water price 

We've looked at the rising price of water in Portugal in recent months and the continuing high temperatures, With the increase in energy prices and water consumption,  the cost of water keeps going up and it has also become a going concern problem.


Portugal's rainfall distribution-the northern, transitional, and southern regions
Annual rainfall values for the northern, transitional, and southern regions from 1919 to 2019.

Consequently, the southern homogeneous region was the driest, with an average of 591.1 mm over the 100-year study period. The equivalent value in the north is 11 19.7mm (the wettest region) and 822.9mm for the region with a uniform transition - note that the weighted average annual rainfall for the same century was 854.0mm.




In EFMA, the pattern of water consumption and precipitation reveals a concerning shift. The decline in rainfall over time, coupled with annual increments in precipitation, has triggered a progressive disruption of the water equilibrium in the Alentejo region. As a result, one of the notable outcomes is the escalating cost of water.