Field Trip
Presentation
SOLAPUR GROUP
Group composition
Group as a whole
Solapur district at a glance
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In the Decan Plateau
District with 11 blocks (40-110 villages)
4th in size and 17th 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
Tipehali as an example
• Tipehali: 3,000 people (350hhs), 30
landless
• 4 shop owners, 5 in public admin
Input/Ouput market
• One weekly market
(haat) serves 10 –
15 villages
• 2 Krishi Utpanna
Bazarr Sammittee
(auction markets)
IDE Solapur
• Started in 1997
• 5-block coverage
• 4 staff (IDE Solapur director and 3
support staff)
Places visited
People met
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Drip farmers
Drip distributors/dealers
Drip manufacturer
Agri. input dealers
Nursery
Commission agents
CBO
Transport agent
Packing box manufacturer
Situation before IDE
• Migration (whole family as sugar cane cutters, 80100km 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
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
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
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
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
Supply
chain
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)
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
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)
Support/facilitation role
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
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
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
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)
Dhanyavad!
Questions? Comments?