Stories of Success by Ankita Khare

Stories of

HOPE SUCCESS PROSPERITY

INTRODUCTION IDEI successfully implemented the program titled, “Integrating Small Holder Farmers into Market Systems”, in identiﬁed districts of Andhra Pradesh. The program was funded by Walmart Foundation. The program reached out to 9, 483 small holder farmer households. The program included farmers and supply chain members- the other key stakeholder in program implementation. The program emphasized on, a) increasing productivity and income of small holder farm families; b) working with market based approach for poverty reduction; c) mitigating the impact of climate changes through less water consuming crops with Aﬀordable Water Use Productivity Technologies and Practices; d) promoting agro-climatic suitable variety crops which are remunerative for small holder farmers; e) establishing and strengthening non-exclusive supply chain and; f) promoting sustainable agriculture products and practices. This document showcases success stories of a few farmer households and members of the supply chain who have participated in the program and transformed their income generation capacities for good. The families have adopted technologies, best practices and with continued implementation of learning’s they will continue to generate income for themselves and families and thereby lead lives of respect and dignity.

Chillies don' t taste bitter any more! Subramanyam and his three-member family live in Chittoor district. Subramanyam owns two acres of land and was ﬁrst introduced to drip irrigation systems in the year 2016. Ever since he has been cultivating one acre of his land and cultivating tomatoes. Subramanyam has been making a decent monetary return, however he did not receive more drip irrigation system under subsidy system. After seeing the result of using drip systems and the monetary returns it brings, Subramanyam has been struggling to ﬁnd some way of getting his entire land under drip system but was unable to do so. Then one day he heard the jingle playing and the information provided through the IDEI short campaign vehicle. It was like music to Subramanyam’s ears. He met with IDEI team and also went to meet the dealer to be sure of what he had heard. He got absolutely convinced after visiting fellow farmer and seeing the product in action. Within few days, Subramanyam consulted his wife and got money from their savings and bought low cost drip irrigation system for his other one acre of land. Based on feedback received from the market, he decided to cultivate chillies. He followed the best practices shared by IDEI including use of sustainable agricultural products and practices and cultivated the crop.

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... With passing days Subramanyam could see both his fields, the entire land lush and green with plants. Being an intelligent farmer, Subramanyam consulted the IDEI team and applied the best practices to his tomato crop also. The results of the adopting sustainable agricultural products on tomato crop started to show results. With time, Subramanyam made bumper harvest of both tomatoes and chillies. His delight knew no bounds. With both crops Subramanyam generated profit of US$ 1,010. He decided to reinvest some part of the money into the field and next crop cultivation while he saved some part of this and put away in the bank account. Subramanyam is a very happy man and has started to plan the future for each member of the family and also for expanding the scope of agriculture.

Winning Respectability Dry parched land with not a patch of green on it. Every morning when Krishna Reddy woke up to this sight, his heart quailed for he knew he and his wife were doomed to be wage laborers for yet another day. They would probably have to migrate to a nearby town yet again, taking their little children with them and leaving his aged parents to fend for themselves. This constant migration meant that his three children could never go to school. The hard work as a manual laborer was taking a toll on his health too and he could see that his wife was getting tired of the never-ending poverty in their lives. Yet there was little Krishna could do to change his family's life – in the absence of adequate irrigation water, their 1 and ½ acre plot hardly yielded anything.

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... One day, while working as a wage laborer in the nearby town, he saw low cost Drip leaflets being distributed. Curious, he took one and was immediately struck by how well suited this product was to his specific needs. He borrowed some money and immediately installed low cost drip in 1/3rd of his land. He and his wife planted egg-plants and tomatoes. For the first time, with the low cost Drip, they were actually witnessing growth on their dry land. They had a good harvest and made a profit of US$ 110 selling the produce. After returning part loan, he installed low cost Drip on 3/4th of his plot and began cultivating a variety of vegetables. From his second crop he made a profit of US$ 350. The customers are always happy to pay a good price for his crops as thanks to assured and timely irrigation, they are of better quality and taste. Krishna and his wife no longer need to work for others and take pride in working for themselves. Working on their land is a labor of joy for them. With additional income, the family has been able to do things they always wanted. Children are now going to school and the family owns cattle. They don't have to go to bed hungry anymore – their kitchen is filled with vegetables from their farm and milk and milk products. Today, they can happily shop for personal and household goods at the village store instead of being afraid of being debt-ridden always. “Low cost drip promoted by IDEI is my lucky charm” says a smiling Krishna 'Only because of this drip, I have transformed myself into a farmer from a wage laborer. I have won respectability finally”.

Using Drip to Ensure Maximum Yield K Nagaraju, farmer hails from Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh. His family comprises of his wife, 3 sons and 1 daughter. His wife, daughter and one son help him in cultivation and two other sons are working elsewhere. Agriculture is their main source of income. He owns 4 acres of land. Earlier, he was cultivating groundnut, onion, chili, beans, corns and okra and using furrow irrigation for. But he felt that the productivity from his ﬁeld could deﬁnitely be increased. However, he did not know how to go about it.

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When a short campaign vehicle passed through his village, he followed it and had to wait for the van to park itself. Once parked, IDEI representative laid out the drip system demonstration and started to explain to the famers about the Drip Irrigation System. Nagarjuna learnt about low cost system. He was impressed with the aspect of how with less labour, time, cost and water one could achieve more production, weed control, highly uniform water distribution etc. Nagaraju decided to get IDEI promoted drip irrigation system and installed on 0.50 acres of his land for eggplant cultivation. Since the market had offered better rate for egg plant in the earlier season, Nagaraju decided to cultivate them instead of his regular okra. Using this drip irrigation system, Nagaraju got a total produce of 3 tons from his 0.50 acres of land and was very happy with the yield and got a good return. He had invested about $286 on sourcing seeds, and labor and other input costs. His profits were $ 857 and therefore net profit was $ 571. “I would like to thank IDEI for introducing me to this water, labor and cost-effective technique of drip irrigation”, he says. “I will definitely install drip irrigation system further on my land and the best part is that low cost makes it possible for me to add smaller parts of field to drip systems”, he added.

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Drip's Remittance is Astonishing In March every year, with unfailing regularity, the onset of summer with drought, aridness is seen far and wide across India. Before, two decades, I have experienced the thrilling ponds and reservoirs surrounded in villages. But now there is no sign of such water resources. Kavita, lives with husband, son, father and mother. After educating up to year ten (10), on track she sustained her husband's three acres of land. Over the years, unvarying climatic conditions is a sever threat in his village. The well kept on drying. At ﬁrst, they tried increasing depth of bore well but all his eﬀort went disastrous.

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... After all, with no alternative she cultivated less water intense crops in one acre during summer. This was habitual until few years back before she recognized low cost drip system. At a juncture, she came across a board advertisement illuminating the advantages of low-cost drip irrigation. Instantly Kavita called her husband to discuss and together they called IDEI staff and gathered all the relevant information. Kavita had disbelief on the working prototype of the system. To begin with she tried out in 50 cents of land for glorious crop. She irrigated the land for two hours, thrice a week. Systematically she noticed the difference in the growth of the crop and had a clear outlook for better yield. In the end, she harvested the crop and sold in the market earning US$ 40, which was marvellous. It was unbelievable; she brought low cost drip irrigation for another 1.5 acres. Within less than two years, Kavita standard of living has changed significantly. As a family they have bought new cattle, ornaments for herself, reconstructed house, educating their only son in a university and taken good care of parents' health. Kavita’s family declares they are cherishing every moment with low-cost drip's magnificent flourishing.

Feel Blessed with Drip Irrigation Somanna and her husband worked as daily wage earners to feed themselves and their five children. After full days of drudgery they would barely get enough money to survive. The terrain of the district is marked by water scarcity. As a result in summers, days would pass before Somanna would get work as a casual labour thus directly impacting the status of their food intake. Having identified the need and potential in Somanna's case, the team member spoke about the ImNax kit to her. Somanna was very fascinated with the kit, its pipes and ease of use. However, even after understanding the advantages of the kit and ways it would help her family, Somanna could not install it as her husband was not willing to invest any money in it. With passage of time and the prospect of feeding their children a vegetable rich healthy diet they gave in & invested money from small savings they had in the kit. They started with growing cluster beans and ridge gourd and expanded to include other vegetables like black eyed beans, egg plant etc. In a span of 3 months they have grown about 9 different types of vegetables (at different intervals) and are enjoying their daily intake. It is too soon to comment on the enhanced health status of the family but at the same time, if they continue with the kit, it is not too difficult to envision a much healthier family in the future.

Heightened Self Conﬁdence Sudhakar and his brother live together as joint family in Anantapur district. Though the brothers worked hard they were unable to produce enough and quality crops with the available water resources. Generally low yield was further reduced by unpredictable climatic conditions. The family was struggling under the risk of continued existence. Every day, became diﬃcult with tribulations. The family had no other option, rather surviving from the low income earned of irrigating one third of their land. At this stage, a nearby farmer informed Sudhakar regarding a farmer meeting to be held in the village. Although unconcerned he accepted and attended the farmers meeting and learnt about ... low cost drip system. Sudhakar was motivated and decided to experiment with the innovative process and to explore in 0.4 hectare for vegetables. Despite of the adversity; he managed to arrange a loan with a local money lender to install IDEI promoted drip system.

... Restricted to few crops, glancing green and good-looking was promising of excellent yield for Sudhakar. While on conventional method, yield was 230 kg and now the yield had risen to 760 kg which is almost three time. As the yield for the vegetables fetched good rate, he sold and earned $342 as net profit for the season. For this poor old farmer, drip system became fortunate with increased yield, less water, and also saves labour and time. His family has plenty to eat and the domestic expenses are met out of the income from vegetable sales. With the additional income, he has built a new restroom and had enough money for quality education to his son. Cultivating new crops, he is hoping to earn much more than the earlier year by adopting good agricultural practices that he has learnt. Driven by the passion to share about the benefits of drip system, he actively spends considerable amount of time influencing other farmers to rid them of poverty. Sudhakar says, “At the age of 65, my self-confidence heightened because of low cost drip system. All thanks to IDEI promoted drip.”

Hope and Rewards For Sivananda, life could not have dealt a worse blow when due to modernization in the work place, he lost his job as a worker in the nearby factory. The sole breadwinner of a large family comprising of his wife, three sons, one daughter, sister and mother, he wondered how he was going to feed them all. Since he knew little tailoring, he took up a job as a tailor but his earnings were meager. With his family members, he toiled on his 1-hectare plot of land irrigating plants with limited water from a broken well. They could hardly cultivate anything because of tremendous water scarcity and often, their hard labor went waste. Soon, his children had to drop out of school. His sister felt like she was a burden on her brother and wondered if their family would survive the grind of poverty and hunger. Sivananda knew that he could not expect anything to grow on his plot without adequate irrigation. However, he hardly had any solution – he did not have the resources to repair his well nor could he afford conventional drip systems. He had often passed by the local drip dealer's store and had seen the colorful wall paintings and banners. One day, he decided to stop by and find out what exactly did the low-cost drip offer. The helpful dealer explained in detail the potential of low-cost drip promoted by IDEI and how it was different from others and showed him how to use the various systems. Sivananda immediately felt that the affordable low-cost drip was meant for small farmers like him.

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... Delighted to know from the dealer that the low-cost drip was the solution to his problems, Sivananda invested his meager savings to install low-cost drip in half of his plot and planted a crop of eggplant. From his first harvest, he made a profit of about US$ 250, a staggering amount for the family teetering on the brink of absolute poverty. He reinvested part of the money in installing low cost drip on entire one-hectare plot and the family got busy planting other crops too. From the second crop, the family earned a profit of US$ 500+, an amount that has ushered in significant change in their lives. Today, children are back in school and the family proudly shows off the new bike and mobile they have purchased. A substantial portion of the profits have been put away as savings in various financial instruments and the family has bought cattle. Sivananda has finally been able to repair the broken well – it is now lined with concrete. “IDEI promoted low cost drip is my partner in progress” Sivananda says as he gets ready to harvest yet another bountiful crop. “Our family is smiling again – we are eating well and we now own things we never dreamt we could have”.

Stable Income and Recognition

Krishnan resides in a small village near Chittoor. Coming from a poor family Krishnan struggled a lot after losing his job with a motor mechanic. Unemployment became a major stress which left Krishnan with increasing debts and poverty. Krishnan was reluctant to migrate to other places for job leaving his family. So he was badly hunting for job. During this time, one ﬁne day while walking pass a wall painting of IDEI promoted low cost drip advertisement a thought came to Krishnan. He rang the number in the advertisement for any job vacancy. Fortunately, Krishnan rang to the dealer number who was in desperate hunt for an installer to install IDEI promoted low cost drip systems. Since, it was the peak season the dealer found hard to meet out the demands and deliver pertinent after sales service to farmers. Dealer straight away asked Krishnan to visit his shop and explained him about the nature of the job and sent him to another installer for training. Krishnan underwent one week training with him and learnt all the speciﬁc techniques to install drip system. Now, Krishnan is able to make habitual income for his subsistence. At this time, he has slowly repaid his debts with the neighbour. Furthermore, his is able to educate his two children in an English standard school. He has also opened a new saving bank account for himself with a deposit of USD 50 initially and every month he is able to save USD 15. This year he is also planning to renovate his old house. Krishnan enthusiastically persuades other farmers to use drip systems for their welfare.

Low Cost Drip Systema God Sent Solution P Kaleshavalli is a marginal farmer from Prakasam district. He has 3 acres of land with 7.5 HP motor pump facility. He is an existing drip user and has been benefitting from the government subsidy scheme. However, while sitting at a tea shop when he heard the song played on the IDEI short campaign vehicle he became curious and walked over to enquire. He made in-depth enquiries and learnt everything about low cost drip systems. On hearing the details, he made a spontaneous decision to buy IDEI promoted low cost drip irrigation systems for 0.5 acres of land for cultivating vegetables. Within days, the prepunch flat drip irrigation systems was installed on his field. He planted bitter gourd on the entire half acre under this drip system. Once the installation was completed, upon seeing working system, he felt very happy. It was then that he shared with the team that his existing drip was four-year old and was not functioning properly but he did not have the money to replace with similar drip system. And because of damaged systems he had to bear crop loss and therefore an approximate financial loss of about US$ 750 last year. Affordable drip system seemed a god send solution to him! Kaleshavalli got very good yield and good price in the market also. The production was in all about five tons with each gourd of similar size and weight and good quality. His gross earning was US$ 850 and net profit was about US$ 500 from just half acre of land. Kaleshavalli was so happy as with this profit he is confident that within no time he will make recoveries of the previous year's losses.

More Drip More Money Srinivasulu who lives with his four-member family was struggling hard. Unremitting deprived rainfall aggravated farming from his 0.8 hectare of land. With rising water depletion, his debts were mounting for his family survival and children's education. Pushed in a decisive situation, he struggled to uplift his family. Even with so much struggle his hard days seem un-ending. At this time, he came across the yellow leaflet and a man sitting and talking very passionately about irrigation and increasing income. He was curious and approached one of the GRLVV who was talking to other farmers and gathered all the relevant information regarding the system. He found the system fascinating. Further he got in touch with the local dealer. He was pleased with the system and consulted with his wife. Though his wife was reluctant, he convinced her and they borrowed money from a local money lender to install the drip irrigation system. To begin with, he irrigated 0.4 hectare of land with egg plants. They both toiled on the field and were anxious each day about the results. But gradually with efficient drop by drop irrigation, they observed gradual and steady growth of the plants. In addition, with use of drip irrigation system they saved money in weeding and labor. After three months, the yield was unexpected. Srinivasulu and his wife cherished about 660 kg vegetables. They both joyfully plucked and sold the vegetables in the market and in a very long time made profit. They were able to generate profit of about USD 250. So much profit in just one season was unbelievable for the couple. They used money to pay back the credit taken for purchasing the drip and for buying good quality of rice to feed the family with nutritious food, bought books and other education supplies for children. The couple expects to have similar crop in the next season and make more profit. They plan to make wise investments to have a secured future for the family.

More Crop with Less Water Mure Pulla Reddy, farmer from Chittoor district lives with his four-member family. He owns about two acres of upland and 0.5 acres of lowland. Pulla and his family went through very difficult time few years ago. They were always hand-to-mouth and even the thought of any family members falling sick gave Pulla and his wife jitters because there were no means to take care of such incidences. As Pulla mentions, there were no means to take care of two square meals, so taking care of any contingency of out of question. They just managed to survive by doing labor work or by borrowing money from the money lender. It was about five years ago that Pulla came across information on drip irrigation systems but they were not affordable so he tried to get government subsidy. Fortunately for him and his family, they managed to get the subsidy. Pulla started with cultivating tomatoes on one acre of his upland. Since both-drip irrigation system and vegetable cultivation was new for them, there was a lot of struggle. But with constant use and with some information received from the dealer, the family could pull through tomato cultivation and started to generate income. When Pulla met with IDEI team member and starting interacting. He learnt about the low- cost drip irrigation system and with it about importance of multi cropping. He could understand that how multi-cropping will not only help mitigate his financial risks but will also help improve the quality of soil/ field. After discussing with his wife and collecting saved money that they could re-invest they decided to purchase low cost drip irrigation system for half an acre of land.

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... After interacting with fellow farmers about what crop to cultivate, Pulla decided to cultivate beans on half acre of land. With each drop of water, the plants bloomed and within no time the otherwise fallow half acre of land started to look green. Pulla is very happy to see more land under drip irrigation and green cover. Pulla had a bumper crop and he generated net proﬁt of about US$ 850. He spent about US$ 250 on his children's education and another US$ 100 on meeting with some health expenses. Pulla is planning on increasing land under drip irrigation and plans to clear all debts and buy livestock by next year.

One plus One is Eleven Shri Nama Srinivasulu Shetty (53 years) of Chittoor district lives with his fourmember family. He owns a hardware shop and sells diﬀerent material to the customers. Srinivasulu takes immense pride in the fact that he has been able to grow the shop and its business manifold since his father started long back. Starting from a simple provisional store to expanding it to promote electrical appliances and then agricultural equipment including motors, pipes and so on and so forth. In order to expand, Srinivasulu had to sell of his land in the village and make investments. For some time now, Srinivasulu has been promoting drip irrigation systems. However, low cost drip irrigation system has been a recent addition to his repertoire. Inclusion of IDEI promoted low cost drip irrigation systems to his inventory has helped him boost his business. Srinivasulu expresses deepest gratitude to the IDEI team who promote the drip to the farmers and because of which there is an increased business for him. He is seeing a tangible increase in his business now and with an additional push from IDEI promoted drip irrigation systems, Srinivasulu has been able to buy ﬁve acres of land in his village. However due to the pandemic he is seeing dip in his business. But overall Srinivasulu is very positive and hopes to expand again. He feels very happy to see that both his children are able to freely pursue their dreams to study- son is pursuing B. Tech and daughter is an under-graduate student. He is able to take care of medical needs of his parents also. “I would like to thank IDEI for working with us to help the marginalized farmers in rural areas in cultivating the vegetables through drip irrigation”. He says. “I am surely going to extend my support to the IDEI in future activities, because with IDEI I feel 1+1 is eleven!”, he added.

Wheel of Good Fortune Started to Move R. Ravindra Reddy and his four-member family live in Chinnagottigallu mandal. Ravindra encountered drip irrigation systems almost a decade ago but he did not have the means to afford it on his field. As a result, his four-acre land, three-acre upland and one-acre lowland was almost always fallow. Only during the monsoon, the one acre of lowland saw some crop cultivation and for few moths there-after, until the moisture lasted in the soil. This pushed Ravindra and his family into poverty. Inability to afford basic survival, Ravindra and his wife Bhuvaneswari were often forced to borrow money from local money lender. Mounting debts were an additional worry for him and he was desperately trying to find a way out. It was in 2016, that Ravindra could get drip irrigation systems through the government subsidy but only for half acre of his land. Ravindra immediately started cultivating tomatoes and good harvest helped him get good monetary returns. This was a big respite for him. As Ravindra continued to sincerely exert on his field, he was able to pay off large part of his loan but still unable to increase land under drip irrigation and therefore cultivation. Until recently, when he was accompanying his friend to an agri-input shop he came across IDEI promoted low cost drip irrigation systems. Chance meet with a ... Young Agriculture Entrepreneur (YAE) gave him an opportunity to sit and have conduct a long interaction about low cost drip irrigation systems and about affordable sustainable agricultural products.

... Ravindra was very curious and also very experienced farmer, he asked several questions and while talking to the YAE conducted a quick cost benefit analysis in his mind (as Ravindra shared later). He could clearly see the benefits and immediately decided to install low cost drip irrigation systems on another acre of land. He could afford on this much land with his savings very easily. Ravindra followed the inputs shared by the YAE and got the soil testing done and after discussions with other farmer friends and market visits decided to cultivation egg plant and okra. As the water fell drop by drop and with use of sustainable agricultural products, Ravindra could see his complete transformation of his one acre of land. Healthy plants with reduced input costs gave Ravindra hope of a brighter future with good returns. Just as he had planned, there was a hearty harvest with good demand in the market too. Ravindra generated net profit of about US$ 490. He used some part of this money to repay one part of the bank loan and spend some on the education of his beloved children. Ravindra said, “with low cost drip irrigation system the wheel of good fortune started to move our my lives”.

Against all Odds To be physically challenged and extremely poor – Rajamohan N. felt that this was going to be his lot in life and nothing would ever change for the better. He had one and a half hectares of land but he could hardly grow anything – the shallow well often ran dry and his pronounced limp made it difficult for him to carry water from the well to irrigate all the plants. He took to tailoring but there was not enough business in the village for him to earn much. Often, his wife had to work for others as wage labor, leaving his aged parents and little children alone at home. There was little to look forward to for the whole family and life seemed an enormous burden. Early one morning, Rajamohan saw a rainbow and thought it was a lucky charm. He was sitting in his little tailoring shop in the village when he heard an IDEI promoted low cost drip irrigation systems short promotional campaign. After learning about the low-cost and water-application efficiency of the low-cost drip, Rajamohan felt the first stirrings of hope in him. He asked a friend for a loan and installed low cost drip on his plot of land. He and his wife worked hard, planting a crop of chilies, confident that with the low-cost drip, their irrigation woes were over forever. They harvested a bumper crop and his wife sold the produce directly in the nearby market, finding it a very fulfilling experience. With part of the profit generated, Kolekar quickly paid off the loan and planted another crop on his land. The increase in the family's income has led to several changes for the better - they were able to invest in new vessels and a mobile for their home. They also bought cattle, a dream they had nurtured for long. Today, the family eats better - a rich and varied diet of milk, vegetables and cereals. For his elderly parents, the mobile is a connection to the world outside and they are no longer anxious about their future. His wife no longer needs to work for others and is proud to be self-employed. Both Shivaji and his wife are able to spend time with their children, helping them with their school work. For Rajamohan, his success indicates his triumph over his physical challenges. “Life is as vibrant as the rainbow now” he exclaims. “Thanks to IDEI promoted low cost drip system, I have the harvests I always wanted but never could achieve earlier”.

Prosperity Beckons Shri Nadimpalli Sriramulu hails from Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh. His family comprises of his mother, wife, a son and daughter. His wife helps him in business, whereas his son is studying higher secondary and the daughter in eighth standard. Business is their main source of income and he owns an agri-input shop. He is an electrical mechanic and used to wind motors, do petty repair work etc. Eventually he started a small agriculture products shop and started to grow. Apart from other material, he has been thinking about keeping drip irrigation systems and had recently started to work with it. He is supplying both ISI and the non-ISI drip systems. He carries good rapport with local people and they trust him for his advice on many agricultural issues. When the program team visited and mentioned drip systems he was very happy. He felt conﬁdent that his business will get further boost and immediately decided to be a part of the network. The team was also excited to have him as he is trusted by the local population and people know about him. He is getting good business in his village. During his earlier days, daily business was from USD 15-30 but presently his daily business has grown to USD 150-300 with a much higher annual turnover. He has purchased some land and gold from the returns. But his greatest treasure is to be able to provide his children quality education and also quality health care services to his family. The current was not very encouraging because of the pandemic, but he is conﬁdent of better days ahead. “I would like to thank IDEI for working with us to help the marginalized farmers in rural areas in cultivating the vegetables through drip irrigation”. He says. “I want to construct new own building to avoid monthly rental of USD 250, I am surely going to extend my support to the IDEI in future activities”, he added.

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