The agronomic techniques integrated to our production system also brought a relevant contribution to the water resources in our farms. Our crop fields are permanently covered by either sugarcane plants, sugarcane mulch or rotation crops, which reduces water losses through evaporation, besides increasing soil capabilities in water retention and infiltration because of the accumulation of organic matter and because of the reconstitution of its bio-structure, which means balanced portions of earth, water, air, organic matter and life in the soil.

The whole system’s intense vitality, mainly due to the existing life in the soil, which stablishes itself from the soil coverage, and also because of the agro-ecological production system that avoids using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers - , acts as a natural filter, guaranteeing water quality while avoiding its contamination. We are sure The Green Cane Project effectively contributed to increase the water flow in the water courses that are born or pass through our farms.

Furthermore, there are two emblematic cases where such statement can be definitely proved. In Santa Rita and Agua Branca farms there were vegetated channels originally built to drain exceeding pluvial water occurring during the summer in our region. Years after the Green Cane Project implementation over these farms, the water flow in such channels turned out to be permanent, lasting even in the dry wintertime. We then forested these new springs’ margins in order to protect them.

The bellow images compare Santa Rita Farm in 1971 and 2008, respectively, 15 years before and 22 years after the Green Cane Project implantation. They show that there was nothing in the places where the streams are nowadays.