SUSTAINBLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

“The IDEI activities had huge effects on the socio-cultural situation of the smallholder farmers. Both male and female farmers have increased their knowledge base (production of vegetables, SAP, input and output markets). Especially for women, the situation has changed a lot, for the scheduled caste women of UP as well as for the tribal women of Orissa.

Women farmers are more equipped with knowledge and skills on livelihood-related issues; they feel more empowered and confident in doing agriculture; they have more access to agro-based input and output markets.

INTRODUCTION International Development Enterprises (India)-IDEI has been working exclusively with smallholder farmers for over two decades and has been a part of four key revolutions that have targeted the smallholder farmers.

1 Irrigation Revolution

2AgricultureRevolution

3 4Revolution in Design

Market Based Approach

The first has been the Irrigation Revolution:

The second has been the Agriculture Revolution:

The third has been a Revolution in Design:

The fourth has been Market Based Approach:

Making available affordable irrigation technologies to the remotest village in its state of work. These technologies self select its user group and are completely customised for use by the smallholder farmers.

IDEI made cultivation of cash crops possible and profitable on small plots.

Conducting exhaustive research and development to develop technologies for smallholder farmers. It has been ruthlessly pursuing technology development keeping affordability, environment and gender friendliness and other parameters as the central theme.

IDEI was a champion organisation that viewed smallholder’s as a ‘market’. Private sector players and others always thought of smallholders as too fragmented a base to be considered as a market potential. Defying all existing notions, IDEI followed the market based approach and successfully promoted its technologies with more than 1.3 Million households.

International Development Enterprises, India (IDEI) has been in the forefront of revolutionizing

small farmer livelihoods through market-based interventions in irrigation technology. IDEI has promoted and got over 1.3 million smallholder farmer households to adopt its irrigation technologies. With this adoption, life of more than 7 million people in India has moved from dearth to prosperity. With the adoption of IDEI promoted technologies each household starts to generate $400 as net additional income annually.

Several external evaluation reports (few listed below) have validated the income impact of IDEI promoted technologies on each farmer households.

Universal Consulting, 2013 “Income impact assessment of KB Treadle Pumps Using households in Assam”, available at:- http://www.ide-india.org/PublicationPDFForLoginUsers.aspx

IMRB, 2012 “India Micro-Irrigation Programme Survey: Summary of Findings”, available at:-http://www.ide-india.org/PublicationPDFForLoginUsers.aspx

KPMG International, 2012. “Advisory sustainability services Voxtra’s non-profit investment in IDEI”, available at:- http://www.ide-india.org/PublicationPDFForLoginUsers.aspx

Crop Portfolio Planning

Cash Needs

Micro Credit at farmer level & capital needs of enterprises that serve small holder farmers

Long term security & stability

Existing crop immediate New high value crops medium term

Select 2 existing crops

Document best practices

Identify cost reduction measures

Build a campaign to promote

Identify farmers & whatpercentage they can pay

Introduce small loans with flexible repaymentschedules Identify technology & input providers as the point of delivery

Identify new value crops

Introduce through a campaign

Reduce risk by multi cropping & facilitatingbuy back arrangements(wherever possible)

Field bound plantations

Revival of supplementaryland based activities

Increase cropping intensity spread risk

Provide long term security

While the impact on the income levels of KB customers was always positive, however, studies revealed that depending on a number of factors, the income impact was varied. IDEI commissioned external studies to identify the specific factors that were leading to varied incomes generated amongst different treadle pump user farmers. The studies identified market access, input management and farm management as some of the more important factors that led to value-addition to the KB customer. Based on these findings IDEI developed a framework for a pilot programme. This programme was called Integrating Poor into Market Systems (IPMAS).

The following framework was developed for the new initiative:

In the action plan, at the farm level the following action points/ activities were included:

Making available affordable irrigation technologies;

Establishment of nurseries for newly introduced high value crops; introducing saplings instead of seeds for risk mitigation;

Establishment of plant nutrient units; Establishment of bio fertilizer units;

Establishment of bio pesticide units;

Establishing linkages with local traders by facilitating farmers-trader meetings.

By understanding the above mentioned activities IDEI was able to facilitate a consistent reliable income flow for user farmer.

Supporting donors commissioned external evaluation of the programme at different intervals of programme implementation. One of the external evaluation report states that, “The impact on IDEI clients is very high in terms of increased incomes, higher surpluses converting into higher investments / savings, reduction in migration and a high level of KAP impacts both about sustainable agricultural practices as well as about market information about vegetables.

A. Household level incremental income of INR 20,000 per annum ($400) or more seems to be widely prevalent;

B. The annual income through sale of products from KB pump area was ranging from INR 20,000-60,000 ($400-$1000).

1

The higher-end incomes were associated with larger area and nursery activity”. In addition to the income impacts there were other impacts. Excerpts from the report are as follows, “The vegetable nursery-growers are playing a useful role and are doing good business. There might be further scope for increasing their number. Newer vegetable crops / tree crops and SAP have been introduced by IDEI and this has helped increase the cropping intensity, crop diversity and adoption of some sustainable practices. Nursery farmers emerge as a role-model and as significant trigger for switch to vegetables. 30% of IPMAS farmers had adopted border plants”.

KAP - Knowledge, Attitude and Practices1

In another evaluation undertaken by another donor, the impact of irrigation technology and IPMAS was found to be very high. The report states, “The treadle pumps introduced have led to a tremendous increase of income of smallholders and even some landless farmers. However, a pump alone does not help much– and IDEI has assisted smallholder farmers to overcome agro-based constraints, such as availability and access to quality agro-inputs, like seeds and fertilizers and to integrate into the market system. The tremendous increase of income was due to intensive vegetable cultivation and selection of high value crops as per the market needs supported by promotion of quality seedlings in local nurseries, supporting sustainable agricultural practices such as the production of biological fertilizers and pesticides, as well as supporting agro-input and output linkages. The introduction of SAP has brought down the input costs and enhanced productivity. Both tribal and low caste farmers have better access to agro-input markets for seeds and fertilizer. Now, more different vegetables are grown- potato, eggplant, cauliflower, tomato, chili, radish, onion, leafy vegetables, garlic, pumpkin, beans, etc. are produced very commonly. New crops have been introduced to the traditional crops such as ginger and turmeric. The cropping intensity has increased - instead of one crop per year now farmers can cultivate three crops. The amount of crops produced has increased. In both states farmers stated that they consume more vegetables and have a more balanced and healthy diet and also sell more crops in the local markets”.

In addition to these on the Socio-cultural Results and Impacts, the study revealed that, “The IDEI activities also had huge effects on the socio-cultural situation of the smallholder farmers. Both male and female farmers have increased their knowledge base (production of vegetables, SAP, input and output markets). Especially for women, the situation has changed a lot, for the scheduled caste women of UP as well as for the tribal women of Odisha. Women farmers are more equipped with knowledge and skills on livelihood-related issues; they feel more empowered and confident in doing agriculture; they have more access to agro-based input and output markets. As a result, their family members started changing their attitude towards these women. Now, women play more important roles in the decision making of the family. The women’s lives have changed a lot; they are more often coming out from their homes/are less confined to their homesteads. Due to the additional income and the reduced migration the villagers are now maintaining a more harmonic relationship within the village”.

KALPANA: THE ENTREPRENEUR

Kwas raising vegetable seedlings only during monsoon on a small part of her field for herself. On her one acre of land she was cultivating paddy and few vegetables. Income from these sources and work as daily wage earners helped the family sustain themselves.

On one day in May 2012, Kalpana was sitting and cursing her life as she could not get work as causallabourer on that day, when she came across a farmer training. During the training, IDEI staff was giving a demonstration on treadle pump (TP). She was impressed and excited as there was an open well near her field. Kalpana started to cultivate more vegetables.

alpana Dharua, a CWE of Saraspita village Soon after, she attended another training facilitated by IDEI staffs where they discussed the aspect of entrepreneurship. By attending training programme she learnt about scientific method of nursery raising and management of both seedlings and saplings. She learnt about crop selection and varieties for different seasons. Simultaneously, TP facilitated her in irrigating the nursery and cultivated land with less effort which encouraged her to expand the area of nursery and cultivated land round the year.

Kalpana is very happy as she has used parts of the profit generated for renovating her house, buying households consumable items and accessing health services for herself and family.

She started to cultivate high yielding varieties of tomato, egg plant, cabbage, cauliflower, chilli and drum stick-PKM-1, papaya-red lady and lalpuri, banana-G-9 during Kharif, Rabi and Summer season.

Use of sustainable agricultural products such as plant nutrient, bio fertilizer and bio pesticide helped her reduce the cost of cultivation.

COST OF CULTIVATION (CROP WISE) BEFORE & AFTER USING KB & SAP PRODUCTS

BEFORE AFTER

NAME OF THE CROP

COST OF CULTIVATION

INCOME FROM THE CROP

NAME OF THE CROP

COST OF CULTIVATION

INCOME FROM THE CROP

Paddy

Okra

Ridge Gourd

Cowpea

Pumpkin

Tomato

Eggplant

1600

650

400

450

300

2250

1500

8400

2350

1600

2550

1200

750

1200

Paddy

Okra

Ridge Gourd

Cowpea

Pumpkin

Tomato

Eggplant

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Chiili

Pointed Gourd

750

300

150

250

100

950

800

700

550

400

350

11,250

3200

1100

3750

1800

2100

7200

6500

4500

3300

4750

TOTAL 7,150 18,050 5,300 49,450

ADDITIONAL INCOME PER ANNUM FROM NURSERY (BEFORE & AFTER)

Income generated from the Nursery:

BEFORE AFTER

NAME OF THE SEEDLINGS & SAPLINGS

INCOME GENERATED(INR)

NAME OF THE SEEDLINGS & SAPLINGS

INCOME GENERATED(INR)

Eggplant

Tomato

360

240

Eggplant

Tomato

Chilli

Cauliflower

Drum Stick

Cabbage

Papaya

Banana

480

450

350

320

360

2000

3000

5000

TOTAL 600 11,960

enabling prosperity

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