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Forget the idea that the backlands are home to only cacti and that people and animals suffer from the lack of water. The scenario is completely different in the São Francisco Valley, the region bordered by the river of the same name in the states of Pernambuco, Bahia and Minas Gerais, a hub for irrigated fruit farming in Brazil. In the 1960s, the first public irrigation projects began in the region, carried out with Hungarian and Israeli studies. The most developed irrigation hub in the Valley is located around the cities of Juazeiro (BA) and Petrolina (PE). According to information from the São Francisco Valley Development Company (Codevasf), there are seven Public Irrigation Projects (PPI) installed in the region, two in Pernambuco: Senador Nilo Coelho and Bebedouro; and five in Bahia: Curaçá, Maniçoba, Tourão, Mandacaru and Salitre. The history of the region's development is completely tied to that of the São Francisco River, from which water is drawn for the plantations. Nowadays, the technology used is different, with micro-sprinkler and drip irrigation techniques being the main ones. The Petrolina-Juazeiro axis is home to the largest fruit-growing hub in Brazil, with emphasis on the production of grapes, mangoes, guavas and sugar cane. According to information from Vale Export, the region produces around 604 thousand tons of mangoes and 252 thousand tons of grapes per year. The fruits are sold domestically and also exported. The main importers of these fruits are the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Germany, Canada and Argentina. The AgroCultura team went there to find out and prepared a special series in three episodes: 1) Riches of Velho Chico - Mango Production (06/15/2019) 2) Riches of Velho Chico - Sparkling Wine Production (06/22/2019) 3) Riches of Velho Chico - Grape Production (06/29/2019) The reports were shown over three weekends: June 15, 22 and 29, 2019.