1. Field Trip Presentation SOLAPUR GROUP

2. Group composition

3. Group as a whole

4. Solapur district at a glance In the Decan Plateau District with 11 blocks (40-110 villages) 4 th in size and 17 th in population 3.2 mil in population, 2.5 mil (rural) Average annual rainfall: 550mm, highest 770mm Soil type: thin soil layer, sloppy, undulating, poor water holding capacity In Sangola: 108 villages (42 dry), 125,000 people Main crops: pomegranate, maize, sorghum, millet, grapes, sugar cane Water table: 200-250m, decreasing Average land holding size: 1.5ha/family

5. Tipehali as an example Tipehali: 3,000 people (350hhs), 30 landless 4 shop owners, 5 in public admin

6. One weekly market (haat) serves 10 – 15 villages 2 Krishi Utpanna Bazarr Sammittee (auction markets) Input/Ouput market

7. Started in 1997 5-block coverage 4 staff (IDE Solapur director and 3 support staff) IDE Solapur

8. Places visited

9. People met Drip farmers Drip distributors/dealers Drip manufacturer Agri. input dealers Nursery Commission agents CBO Transport agent Packing box manufacturer

10. Situation before IDE Migration (whole family as sugar cane cutters, 80- 100km away, 6 months/year, school opportunity limited/neglected, gross 10K Rs/6 months) Limited and uneven rainfall Limited pomegranate cultivation (up to 1997), area increased by NGO/Gov’t projects - well deepening with introduction of ISI drip Promotion of horticulture/pomegranate led to increased demand for water Poor irrigation and drinking water shortage (tankers) E.g: 1997 shortage of water  no harvest of pomegranate (PG) Supply chain (Sanga  commission agents available  etc.) available without drip systems

11. IDEI’s intervention Promotion of AMIT (non-ISI), then easy drip Establishment of AMIT supply network, facilitation of market linkages Capacity building (experience sharing) for farmers and input supply chain Constraints: better cash crop  PG  higher water demand  drip (ISI)  affordability of ISI  AMIT  affordability of AMIT  easy drip Excessive use of pesticides

12. Drip users Crops under drip: PG, veggies, banana, sugar cane, chilies ISI: 20 yrs guarantee, expensive, better off farmers Non-ISI: half of the price of ISI Bucket kit: for kitchen garden for own consumption, less water requirements Crisis adoption: less acreage production under drip, buy water, flood irrigation  drip (bucket kit, easy drip); well deepening and recharging

13. Story of “happy” Balu Karvande Before 1998 Had 160 PGs in 1993 from gov’t with flood irrigation Had 2 or 3 labors working Prepared border to prevent water run-off Needed 3-4 hrs/day for watering PG yield: 25kg/plant (70 fruits) Market: local Migrated every year with family, made 10K Rs in 6 months for the last 16 years After 1998 since drip use Added 260 more with ISI and non-ISI No additional labor required Needs 1-2 hrs/day. Night watering possible Yield 40kg/plant (125 fruits), better color (thanks to drip and/or more fertilization), price doubled Market: local and export Stops migration

14. Story of “happy?” Balu Karvande After 1998 Paid 80% of his loan from the LNGO (Rs. 16K) Helped his brother with the wedding Expanded PG areas up to 410 plants, bought more drip for watering Upgraded house, deepened well ! Took risky decision: buy water for PG just to keep them alive till next year

15. Supply chain

16. Story of a drip distributor Mr. Datta Thorat in Madha village Ex-NGO worker before 2002, not successful in seeking job Then attended a training for assemblers/dealers  took the decision to participate in the distribution of drip Learnt business know-how by himself by visiting other assemblers/dealers as well as manufacturers Products traded: non-ISI: 5%; easy drip 95% Sells to 7 dealers (40-45%) and farmers (in and around the villages, some 200km away) Provides credit for 10% of farmers (25% of the total amount)

17. Story of a drip distributor Service oriented (tries to provide good service, e.g: takes farmers to visit demonstration drip systems, and keeps all spare parts) Supplies: from Jalgaon (good quality, good price), order thru phone, delivery by truck/train Has business expansion plan (expects potential for business), is aware of increasing competitors, persuades manufactures not to sell to others Long-term vision to get into manufacturing business Trippled income (Rs 500K), built a new room

18. Mr. Prakash T. Mane from Tipehalli A farmer himself, realized free time after crop harvest  decided to become a commission agent in 1999, thinking that he would sell his produce at a a better price and also could supply other inputs to farmers. Pomegranate growing was limited at that time. Business diversified: input supply (pesticides + easy drip), PG collection & commission agent PG collection process: trucks pick up PG from local producer at farm gate in bags (with name on) twice a week  send to Delhi market thru transport agents. Payment process: get paid 15 days after produce sold in Delhi market thru banking wire, then pays farmers after deducting debts Export competitors purchase better quality PG directly from producers, gets angry but no reaction, since he also benefits as a farmer himself Irrigated areas doubled. 600K boxes in 2002 to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai  Rs. 600K (Rs. 1/box)

19. Support/facilitation role 2. Infrastructure: roads, electricity, phone, banking system, industry (introduction of easy drip), education, commission agents, institution linkages, IDE, gov’t, CBO, haats, Krishi Utpanna bazarr samittees (auction market), transport, NGO support 1. Role of IDEI: Promotion of drip (AMIT) Capacity building for farmers and other market actors Facilitation of market linkages Networking among farmers and input/output providers

20. Insights/suggestions Insights: basic infrastructure/facilities are very favorable; key roles of commission agents + auction value of crops, increasing demand for crop, monopoly of crop (opportunities and risks) biotechnology, vermicompost present situation: farmers are under threats (weather condition: missing rainfall) low international market  potential for the future win-win chain: every actor is a winner, but could be different this year due to water problem positive role of IDE: impact on livelihood of farmers

21. Insights/suggestions Suggestions: stressing the importance of using drip in a right way reliability/replication of learnings encouraging biotechnologies no honey no money Promotion of fruit processing Promotion of crop diversification Encouraging the participation of other local institutions (e.g Sangha)

22. Dhanyavad! Questions? Comments?