Amitabha Sadangi He has reached over one million small and marginal farmers — those owning less than one acre — in India with his low-cost irrigation tools to meet their water needs.

But ask Amitabha Sadangi, CEO of IDE (International Development Enterprises) - India, how we are treating these farmers and he says: “Pretty badly. Agriculture has seen investment for the last 25 years but the Green Revolution has completely bypassed the small/marginal farmers. It has helped people who can invest big money in fertilisers, pesticides, etc. So these people are totally isolated.”

I met the soft-spoken Sadangi last week at the Tech4Society conference in Hyderabad where 75 social entrepreneurs/innovators, supported by Ashoka and The Lemelson foundations, were sharing their experiences.

Like other social entrepreneurs, Sadangi too doesn't believe in subsidies and charity. Over 8 lakh small Indian farmers have given the thumbs-up to his treadle pumps costing Rs 1,200-1,500 each. Another 3 lakh-odd farmers have bought his drip irrigation system costing Rs 4,000. “Over a million farmers are still using this technology because they have bought it at full cost. Had I given them away free, or subsidised them, probably only 20 per cent would be using it now. That is the beauty of our programme.”

The 52-year-old innovator from a remote area of Orissa battled poverty in his childhood, and after completing his post-graduation in social development from Barhampur University in 1982 did not opt for a “guaranteed government job as an assistant labour welfare officer. It was considered a premium post, but with my background I wanted to help poor people.”

So he joined Oxfam, but was “unhappy with the concept of giving things away, because these are not valued.” He left after five years and devised in 1991 a cheap model of the treadle pump for small farmers and this was a hit in eastern India “where there is water at 7 ft. An hour's pedalling produces about 5,000 litres of water, sufficient to water a one-acre vegetable farm.”

For the south and west of India he has designed a micro-irrigation system that costs Rs 4,000 for one acre. “It might not last for 10 years like the systems that sell for Rs 40,000 after Government subsidy, but is sufficient for the needs of the small farmers who rotate their crops.” His products are now also exported to 16 countries.

His micro-irrigation system has reached 30,000 farmers in Tamil Nadu growing sugarcane, turmeric, chilli, tapioca and gherkins. “Gherkins are exported mainly to Europe. I got a jar from Switzerland and found it was produced in Tamil Nadu,” he says.

Financing farmers

Sadangi's organisation supplies irrigation tools to farmers at cost price. “They respect us because even though we make them pay the full amount they start seeing benefits in the third or fourth month.” But there is also the crucial trust factor. “Normally farmers tend to get cheated with new products, but we give them a one-year guarantee and, when necessary, either replace parts or give them a full repayment within three days.” This guideline is strictly followed with one year's servicing.

He agrees that even Rs 2,500-4,000 “is sometimes big money for farmers.” Microfinance doesn't help because the loan size is Rs 10,000 and repayment is expected every week, “and they prefer risk-free investment. The cattle are insured, but the crop is not and it can fail. And farmers can repay only 120 days after the first crop.” He helps farmers to get loans from commercial banks at 12 per cent or from self-help groups. But this is not always easy, so he is now setting up a company called Nano Finance. “Microfinance doesn't work for them and the Government makes promises of 6-7 per cent finance, which often doesn't reach the farmer who has to run to the bank at least 10 times to get the money. I want to give the farmer money at 7 per cent and at his doorstep.”

The social sector is often criticised for its inability to scale up and micro-organisations cannot make mega differences. But Sadangi's strength lies in his ability to scale up. Reaching out to one million farmers is a huge achievement and helping him towards this goal have been the US-based Skoll, The Lemelsen, and Bill and Melinda Gates foundations.

While IDE-India has got $3.5 million from Skoll, the Gates' Foundation “gave us $27 million over two years and hopefully this will be repeated, because we did a fantastic job. I am looking at investment; because our pumps and micro-systems obliterate diesel use we get carbon credits.” Already $1 million have come in carbon credit from JP Morgan and discussions are on with it for $20 million finance for Nano Finance. “There is a huge demand for our systems but we are not able to cope because we are in the non-profit sector, and hence the new company.”

Sadangi is also developing solar and wind pumps and sprinkler system to provide edible water. Once his company is operational, farmers will get loans at their “doorstep and will need to start repaying only after 10 years.”

Helping women

For women labourers in the agriculture and construction industry “who don't know how to grow vegetables, we give them a family nutrition kit, with a bucket of water, seeds and the technology to use it as drip irrigation to grow vegetables over an area of 20 sq m. It is good enough for a family of five. It costs Rs 200, and since we don't believe in freebies, it goes to them through NGOs,” says Sadangi.

His enterprise employs 550 people and its annual turnover is $7 million. “We set up an export company — Global Easy Water Projects — three years ago and its annual export now is $2 million.

Last month he was “surprised” to get an award … “the pretty unknown Zayed Future Energy Prize; we got it because our treadle pumps save energy,” he says. With the prize money ($350,000) and a $750,000 grant from The Lemelsen foundation “I am going to create a dedicated centre to design products relevant for the poor.”

So, does he apply for awards, grants?

“No, they somehow find me,” he grins.

Bt. brinjal

Sadangi says agricultural research in India reaches barely “10 per cent farmers at the top. The technology they devise is not relevant for the small farmer, just as the Green Revolution bypassed him.”

Even the agri extension workers, who, he believes, are inadequate in number at a ratio of 1:1,000, “have outdated knowledge. Instead of telling farmers what to grow, the timing, etc, they talk about pests and other unnecessary things.”

On Bt. brinjal, he has held informal discussions with almost 300 small farmers and they are not much concerned about the doubts raised by those opposed to this variety of brinjal. “They feel it is mostly the lobbying by NGOs which has pressurised the Government to put this decision on hold. Farmers feel the yield will be good, it will require less water, fertilisers and pesticide. So, what is wrong in growing it; instead of three I will get five kg. Anyway, farmers never get a guaranteed market return so why should we grudge them a reduction in their input costs?”

He too is for Bt. brinjal and argues: “In the long run, when the world's population goes up from six to nine billion, the solution will be GM foods.”

Next on Sadangi's radar are “very low cost water storage tanks. They may not last 20 years, but it's all most people can afford.”

His goal is to reach 25 million people in the next five years as he is enthused by studies showing that “each and every farmer who uses our technology makes a net additional Rs 20,000 a year.”