Empowering Communities for a Prosperous Future

Bhoomiputra Summary

Farmers from Anjangaon Surji, a small taluka in Amravati district of Maharashtra, were facing troubles in irrigating their fertile land. The majority of the water used was acquired from a nearby dam. Shivar regions of the Dhanegaon and Borala village were the exceptions, farmers there were irrigating through their farm wells.

A reduction in rainfall over the last few years has reduced the water table to a critical level. The farmers have already spent their capital in their efforts to save their produce. And are facing more trouble due to the falling groundwater levels and irregular load shedding.

While considering the available alternatives, they chanced upon the possibility of routing the available dam water to their farms. A group of farmers came together and decided to form a society(committee?) to take this project further. The society took the relevant permissions from the authorities to lift the water from the dam and their primary concern was the cost of the project. The total project cost was estimated to be Rs. 2.25 crore, which included a 12 km Pipeline form the dam, main canal to the farms, collection tanks, valves, and other measuring equipments. The society approached many banks and financial institutions for financial assistance but none showed any interest. Finally, the society came in contact with SAFL. After evaluating the economic and social impact of the project, SAFL decided to support the project with the required financial assistance. After the completion of the project, nearly 70 electric pumps have been closed, saving about 2500 units of electricity per day. The second significant benefit was the increase in the water level of the land. All these factors directly affect the standard of living of the farmers in that area.

Micro Irrigation System

Phulambari is located in the north-central region of Maharashtra in Aurangabad district. The city of Aurangabad is also the administrative capital of the centrally-situated Marathwada region. Farmers of Phulambari used to grow crops like cotton, gram, onion, and ginger but are currently facing trouble earning profits due to irrigation & yield issues. Majority of the farmers depend on seasonal rainfall & groundwater for irrigation. Late onset, early withdrawal, and sporadic monsoon are other factors which contribute to the woes. Measures to increase water supply such as the making of storage dams & ponds, recharging groundwater artificially and rainwater harvesting are costly and long term steps.

To overcome this problem, farmers of the Phulambri area desired to the use of Micro-irrigation technology. The benefits associated with this technology motivated a few farmers to adopt the system, and soon they realized better yield, fewer nutrients consumption, low labor requirement and reduction in irrigation cost. The system also supports the introduction of new crops with regular ones. The advantages were considerable, however, the adoption rate was slow mainly due to the initial cost of installation.

To advance the use of micro-irrigation, SAFL (Sustainable Agro-commercial Finance Ltd.) formulated an innovative solution. SAFL decided to finance this felt need with its USP of low turnaround time and doorstep service resulted in a low transaction cost for the farmers. The organization made sure that the repayments synergized with the harvest cycle of each farmer. SAFL alone and in tandem with dealers hold weekly & monthly village level meetings, facilitating sharing of inputs on agricultural practices and micro-irrigation technology.

Farmers were able to increase productivity by 40% approximately. Impacts from the drip irrigation include higher earnings, more diverse crops & low farming cost.