Tamarugal ranchers install innovative technified irrigation system

The Alfalfa Production Center in the Carmelo sector of Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve covers a total of 30 hectares and is a tripartite initiative of the Pampa del Tamarugal Rural Indigenous Association, CONAF and SQM. Local residents are installing technified irrigation piping to create a pioneering system in Chile using buried driplines to better moisten the soil. The water goes directly to the roots, thus optimizing consumption.

SQM Agricultural Engineer Alejandro Riquelme, who directs the Atacama Tierra Fertil Program, explained, “The ranchers have buried the tubing in sector A, which covers 7.5 hectares, and have started to work on sector B. Once the second stage is complete, 15 hectares, or half of the entire project, will be covered.

It is important to note that all of this work is being done by the beneficiaries themselves. The training offered by CONAF and SQM has allowed them to successfully complete each stage.

“As a company, we are very pleased with the progress that this production center has made. It will undoubtedly be very helpful for Pampa del Tamarugal ranchers. We need to keep in mind that it will be one of the largest alfalfa plantations in northern Chile and that this irrigation system is considered a milestone in the field because it uses sustainable technology and elements related to water use,” noted Pablo Pisani, SQM’s Director of Nitrates and Iodine Communities and Public Affairs.

In addition to installing the irrigation system, CONAF and the community worked together to plant 500 native trees that will serve as a perimeter. They are also building a 2,000 mt³ water tank and installing a pipeline that will reach various irrigation stations.

Juan Ignacio Boudon, the Regional Director of CONAF, explained, “This project will provide supplementary food to ranchers. It also includes a churki (Prosopis burkatii) plantation to create a living perimeter that sets the alfalfa plantation area apart and protects it from the wind. Prior to this initiative, only 70 trees were left. Their origins were natural regeneration, but the community work allowed us to plant another 500 trees and significantly increase the specimens of this native species, which is considered to be at critical risk of extinction.”

Richard Challapa, the President of the Pampa del Tamarugal Rural Indigenous Association, adds, “This is a great project that involves innovation at the national level because we are using technology that involves buried driplines to moisten the soil and take advantage of the water. I think that with SQM and CONAF’s support, we will soon be able to announce that we have planted alfalfa, thus addressing the lack of feed for Pampa del Tamarugal ranchers.”

STAGES

This impressive project was launched in the first quarter of 2021 with the traditional pawa, an Aymara ceremony that pays tribute to and expresses gratitude towards Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Ranchers and project beneficiaries started work on the perimeter, organizing themselves into crews to successfully complete this stage.

They are currently installing the technified irrigation system and building a water tank and piping to distribute water. The first stage of the project covers 15 hectares, and work should be complete on all 30 hectares by 2024.