Sunflower irrigation survey : decision rules of irrigating farmers?
Sunflower irrigation survey : decision rules of irrigating farmers?
A survey of irrigators was proposed as part of the CAP Protéines study : "Water to secure sunflower yields". This survey questions the current decision rules of farmers irrigating sunflower.
A total of 48 farmers responded to this survey, spread over 14 departments. The former Poitou-Charentes region is strongly represented with 32 respondents out of 48. The Centre-Val de Loire, Occitanie and Pays de la Loire regions are also represented in the survey.
What is the profile of the respondents?
The participating farms have an average UAA of 164 ha (38 to 486 ha), with soils that tend to be clay-limestone (70%), superficial (38%) or medium (42%). The average irrigated area is about 50%. The equipment most commonly used by the farmers surveyed is the reel (70%), followed by the pivot (10%), then sprinklers (8%). The top three crops irrigated by the farms surveyed are: cereals (27%), corn (25%) and sunflower (22%). On this point, the proportions may be biased by the orientation of the survey, which was designed to survey the practices of farmers who irrigate sunflower. On the scale of France, the latest surveys on cultivation practices indicate an irrigated sunflower area of approximately 6%. In the survey, 70% of respondents grow and irrigate sunflower, so this summary reflects a population of farmers who are familiar with the technique. 44% of sunflower irrigators irrigate regularly while 44% do so occasionally.
► Read the report of the survey sunflower irrigation: decision rules of irrigating farmers?
The ministries in charge of agriculture and economy cannot be held responsible.