NEW DELHI: Ten thousand smallholder farmers in Andhra Pradesh are set to benefit from the introduction of sustainable irrigation products and practices under a program offered by International Development Enterprises – India (IDEI) and supported with funding from the Walmart Foundation.
Dan Bryant, SVP, Global Public Policy and Government Affairs, Walmart and Amitabha Sadangi, CEO, International Development Enterprises-India (IDEI) today announced partnership to Integrate Smallholder Farmers into Market Systems to support 10,000 smallholder farmers in Andhra Pradesh
Providing a grant of US $750,000, the Walmart Foundation will help IDEI take its Integrating Smallholder Farmers Into Market Systems program to ten districts in the state. The program aims to introduce sustainable irrigation products and practices and create a complementary support ecosystem that will boost farm yields, reduce negative environmental impacts, and increase market access and smallholder farmer income.
The program is expected to generate an additional $7.4 million in annual farming income in the state at the end of the project period, with individual gains of $400 per smallholder farmer household per year1. Substantial water savings in agriculture are also anticipated, amounting to 33.4 million m3 of water saved for the state during the program2.
More than 62% of the population of Andhra Pradesh are dependent on agriculture, and yet many farmers live in poverty and lack access to irrigation systems or other technologies to help them improve their productivity and income.
Sustainable agricultural products with practices are the keystone of the IDEI program. It will target smallholder farming families with irrigation interventions and support for market-oriented development.
Introducing sustainable irrigation will help smallholder farmers increase the planting and harvesting window, increase yields, and enable greater crop variety and productivity, unlocking new market opportunities. It will also generate cost savings and reduce negative environmental impact by curbing excess water and Fossil Fuel consumption.
