About IDEI

Why is IDEI Uniqe

For most, small and marginal farmers are either 'recipients of charity' or at best, 'beneficiaries'. Divulging from the oft-repeated charity mode of the past trends' IDEI views the small and marginal farmers as potential customers. This innovative givers to enabler approach to development marks the beginning of a dynamic growth in the socio-economic development of the marginalized farming segment.

Consequently, a notable achievement has been the utilisation of donor funds for the establishment of a penetrative delivery mechanism ie., a commercial marketing channel ensuring the availability of its products at the village level.

In essence, IDE (India)'s model for sustainable development involves bridging gaps at various levels:

• Between technological inventions in research institutions and their adaptations to suit the needs of small and marginal farmers: IDE (India) identifies such technological innovations from across India and the world, and modifies them to cater to the needs and affordability of small farmers.

• Between availability of low-cost technologies and generating awareness about them among small farmers based in remote villages: IDE (India) employs innovative promotional techniques to generate awareness about IDE (India)'s products among the marginal farmers.

• Between demand for IDE (India)'s products and their supply to small farmers in rural areas: We develop and nurture the commercial marketing channel and the NGO network to ensure the accessibility of our products in the remotest corners of the country.
  

People Benefited and need for technology

IDEI has worked towards reducing poverty in India by helping the rural poor increase their agricultural productivity and income through the use of affordable and sustainable technologies. IDEI has helped empower more close to one million rural poor and enable them to progress from subsistence agriculture to small-scale commercial farming, thus beginning an upward spiral out of poverty.

In India ,70% of farming population consists of small and marginal farmers cultivating land less than 1 hectare in size, average size of which decreases by half every 15 years due to the rapid population growth. Today nearly 60% of the farmers belong to marginal category with an average of 0.4 ha land. Agriculture in India is mainly rain fed and majority of the farmers have little access to alternate source of irrigation. These poor farmers are still dependent on the vagaries of the monsoons to sustain their livelihoods. Thus no availability of affordable, dependable irrigation devices is a major factor behind increasing number of farmers being drawn into the poverty spell.

Major parts of Eastern India comprising the sub-Himalayan Terai belt and the Brahmaputra valley have a very high water table. However, the nature and cost of the technology limits independent access to groundwater for irrigation. In these areas IDEI promotes the use of a manually operated water-lifting device for irrigation called the treadle pump. While Diesel pumps existed for decades to cater to big farmers, and traditional means were being employed by smaller farmers which were cumbersome, there was a huge gap in the market that needed technology which was affordable yet efficient to fulfill the need of small farmers. TP technology taps exactly that segment of small landholders having little to invest other than their labour.

The Treadle pump is a water lifting foot operated device that can irrigate small plots of land in regions that have high water table. It is a low cost system , simple in design and easily manageable and appropriately answers the irrigation need for the small farmers. Till date 750,000 small farm holders have adopted the technology.

Similarly in the semi arid regions the need is to prevent overexploitation of precious resources like soil and water by alternative irrigation techniques which not only use the resources better but also result in increased production levels. But these technologies are expensive and out of the reach of the poor farmers.

More than 70% of Indian farmers are small scale operators cultivating plots less than one hectare. They are largely constrained due to the absence of simple and low cost technologies suited to small plots which can be managed by themselves. The present technologies are expensive and fit for use in large fields for big farmers. Thus the systems needed to be technically less esoteric so that the farmers could easily manage it and set it up themselves. Learning practical lessons from grassroots practitioners -the farmers, IDEI embarked upon the innovative adaptations of low cost systems catering to the needs of the smaller farmers, bringing in more flexibility , simplicity and affordability. IDEI promoted drip kits cost almost 80% cheaper than the conventional drip kits and thus bring about a shift from subsistence farming to higher value production farming doubling the income of the poor farmers and greatly enhancing household food security.

The drip irrigation technology and Treadle Pump technology frees the farmer from the limitations of rain fed farming, enabling him to grow wider variety of crops, cultivate all the year round, higher cropping intensity and do priority farming. Good irrigation technologies and agricultural practices coupled with enhanced participation of the poor in the markets is the key to income generation. Income dimension is important because it has the potential to buffer the poor communities against the stresses and shocks they encounter.

IDEI promoted drip irrigation technologies in the form of packaged and ready-to-use kits such as bucket kit, drum kit, and customized systems which are used by farmers for growing both horticulture crops and cash crops and till date have been successfully adopted by 295,000 small farm holders.

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