Social

Impact
  • Social Impact

    The social impacts of IDEI’s work are tremendous and accrue directly to the increased incomes of the poor smallholder families.

    The social impacts of IDEI’s work are tremendous and accrue directly to the increased incomes of the poor smallholder families. Mentioned below are some of them. The social impact of IDEI’s work are tremendous and accrue directly to the increased incomes of the poor smallholder families. Mentioned below are some of them.

     

    Decrease in seasonal migration of the smallholder family to towns and cities in search of work:

    Typically smallholder families are able to grow a single rain-fed crop in the year. Lack of access to water for irrigation forces them to leave their fields fallow and migrate to cities in search of work. This leads to massive social disruption as often the young men and women of the family leave the elderly and the very young behind, working at menial jobs and at low wages. With low-cost micro-irrigation technologies, the smallholder farm families have assured access to irrigation and can undertake successful cropping throughout the year on their own farms. Without having to migrate every year for earning a living in urban areas or factories, they improve their working conditions, spend more time within the family and are able to think and plan about the future. Giving up the strenuous surviving strategy of wage labourers allows participation in family and village decision making.

  • Beneficial impact on women’s lives:

    IDEI specifically targets women farmer customers both in terms of specialized promotional campaigns and its portfolio of inherently gender-friendly low-cost technologies which both men and women can operate easily. Thanks to IDEI’s interventions, women farmers have improved access to technology dissemination programmes which generally bypass them.

    With the low-cost micro-irrigation technologies, women enjoy better nutrition and health as they can easily grow and consume a variety of vegetables and fruits. Their workload on the farm decreases as the technologies reduce drudgery associated with weeding and fetching water from faraway sources for irrigation. Women are thus able to spend more time with their family, particularly their children.

    Due to ample scope for self-employment on their own farms with the assured irrigation guaranteed by these micro-irrigation technologies, women need not work as hired wage labour on other people’s farms and can aspire to a more dignified life. The drop in migration rates reduces a major burden on women. The low-cost technologies induce a more balanced sharing of work-loads at the farming level and women were being integrated in family and village discussions and decision making processes.

  • Increased employment for smallholder farm families on their own land:

    In the absence of low-cost irrigation devices, smallholder farm families are either under-employed or are forced to work as wage labour on larger farms. With low-cost micro-irrigation technologies, smallholder farm families can undertake multiple cropping on their small plots and are busy in their own farms.

  • Improved quality of life of smallholder farm families:

    With increased productivity and related incomes due to use of IDEI technologies, smallholder farm families are able to spend more on basic needs such as food, housing, and health.

  • Increased access to education for children from smallholder farm families:

    Increased family incomes and decreased seasonal migrations allow for children of smallholder farm families to attend school regularly. (see report)

  • Increase in asset-building activities by smallholder farm families:

    Once the smallholder farm families are able to meet their basic needs, they are also able to engage in asset building such as purchase of land, cattle, jewellery etc. For many farmers, the increased incomes enable paying off debts.