Social Returns on Investment

A SUDDEN CHANGE OF FORTUNE BREEDS PROSPERITY

“In my grandparents' time, my parents' time, and even my time, we had this idea to take water from the canal for our crops. Irrigating my land was a major constraint. With the hike in fuel prices, we were not being able to make ends meet using the diesel pump. Hiring costly diesel pumps only added to our woes. For long I had a feeling that there was no way to escape from this economic hardship. But after learning about treadle pump, life has changed for the better. Now, I can grow multiple crops, providing food and income to my family. My wife can easily operate this light weight treadle pump, decreasing the labour required to fetch water. Today, my children go to school and we eat vegetables every day,” says a contented Manik Das, farmer from Assam.

Till just a few years back, Manik was at his wits' end trying to eke out a decent living. Growing just the monsoon crop on his less than a hectare patch of land, he was earning barely enough to feed his family of six. After buying just enough food to keep his family from starving, there was nothing left for medicine, new clothes for his children or savings. While apathy is the appropriate word to describe the mood in Manik's home, their misery seemed never ending.

It was during one of his visits to the market, that he came upon a demonstration of human powered pump lifting water. He learnt from IDE-India staff that this device is suitable for pumping water to crops. Manik admiring the shiny red treadle pump realised that this could be a reliable irrigation system to grow crops all year round rather than wait for the monsoon. He knows that if he doesn't find a solution to irrigate his less than a hectare plot of land in the coming days, he and his family will lose everything. Later in the day, he eagerly described to his wife about pump. Borrowing money from a local moneylender, he got one for himself. And the results were dramatic: ridged gourd, cucumber, ladies finger, onion, chilli and pumpkin – the farmer irrigated all these crops with the treadle pump. Manik was overjoyed as the yield was tremendous. The bountiful harvest generated higher income for the farmer – the seasonal farm income rose from INR 5,000) to INR 25,000 in first year. The farmer enthusiastically said that this little device is not just a water pump, but the source of sustenance for him and his family.

The magic of irrigation boosting productivity through better nourished crops, and through additional crops in dry seasons of the year transformed Manik's days of despair into optimism. Family nutrition has become a lot more adequate. There is additional food for household consumption and for market distribution as well. He has purchased livestock and has started to reconstruct his house. He plans to purchase land to cultivate more crops. He has opened an account with a local bank and has invested in an insurance policy securing the future of his two sons and two daughters.