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.
Rural men and women have for long been involved in cultivation of trees on agricultural lands. The extent to which people cultivate trees and the varieties cultivated depends largely on characteristics of local ecology, patterns of agricultural land-use, cultural traditions, local demands for wood and wood products, tenure rights and economic pressures.
IDEI’s approach to rural development focuses on market opportunities as the driving force for poverty reduction. Development interventions are required to remove basic market constraints, enabling the rural poor to participate in markets both as customers of purchased inputs and as suppliers of high-value products.The income generation through market participation will allow smallholders to access food, education, health, housing, water etc. and thus escape income poverty.
With this unique and innovative approach, IDEI is currently promoting treadle pumps (Manual Water Lifting Devices) in eastern parts of India and affordable drip irrigation technologies in semi-arid regions.