Introduction. Scaling-up Micro-irrigation Systems (SCAMPIS) was a three-year project that ran from 2009 to 2012, and tes
Case study
©IFAD/Cecilia Ruberto
The SCAMPIS Project Introduction Scaling-up Micro-irrigation Systems (SCAMPIS) was a three-year project that ran from 2009 to 2012, and tested out a new approach in the design and dissemination of micro-irrigation systems (MIS) for poor smallholder farmers. This €3 million project, which was the result of an innovative collaboration between the private sector (the European COOPERNIC consortium of retailers) and IFAD’s technical water specialists, provided access to drip irrigation for more than 30,000 households in three countries. In just three years, the project made dramatic improvements in the lives of beneficiaries by increasing their food security and incomes, while enhancing the utilization of limited water resources. It also collaborated with the private sector to make the local supply of drip irrigation equipment self-sustaining.
Context The livelihoods of poor rural people around the globe depend largely on rainfed agriculture. In dry areas, where the great majority of poor smallholder farmers live, water scarcity and poor soil fertility drastically limit the productivity of the land they depend on for survival. The impact of climate change, the increasingly unpredictable nature of rainfall and the frequency of drought are further threats to livelihoods. Millions of vulnerable households suffer from acute food insecurity during long dry periods. Micro-irrigation has enormous potential as a means of exploiting even small amounts of water to improve agricultural productivity. It can operate without electricity, and be used on small plots of land and different terrains. The major challenge with micro-irrigation is how to make it affordable and available to poor rural households. The relatively high cost of equipment has frequently hindered the sustainability and expansion of micro-irrigation in areas where it could bring lasting relief to rural households.
Since 1995, the international NGO iDE (formerly International Development Enterprises) has introduced a development model for small-scale low-cost irrigation with a market approach that addresses the supply and demand of the equipment. IFAD’s Technical Advisory Division for Water decided to develop and refine the iDE model further, for dissemination and replication in French- and Spanish-speaking countries.
Partnering with COOPERNIC Since its creation in 2006, the European consortium COOPERNIC, composed of five independent large-scale food retailers (COLYRUT in Belgium, CONAD in Italy, COOP in Switzerland, E.LECLERC in France, and REWE Group in Germany), has been investing in social development, seeking new ways to support the sustainability of global food chains and the role that smallholder farmers play within them. In 2008, COOPERNIC called for social project proposals addressing water. IFAD was a successful applicant. In December 2008, IFAD signed a contract with the consortium to collaborate on a three-year pilot project aimed at introducing micro-irrigation systems in Guatemala, India and Madagascar. The initiative, which was designed to piggyback on existing IFAD projects in the three pilot countries, was launched in January 2009 and became known as SCAMPIS. Funded with €3 million, the project’s overall objective was to help 30,000 poor farmers increase their productivity, improve household food security and generate income by creating surpluses for sale in local markets. The simple drip irrigation systems introduced by the project were designed for use in backyard gardens or small plots close to the homestead. The designs were adapted to the specificities of each context, but all had three basic components: a water lifting device, a water storage device, and a distribution device – i.e. a series of tubes connected to the water storage device and laid out over a vegetable garden, which deliver water drop-by-drop to individual plants. The drip system ensures that a minimum of water is used and none goes to waste. SCAMPIS was implemented in the three countries by the following non-governmental partner organizations: • In Guatemala - Funcafé, the social arm of the national coffee producers association; 2
• In India - iDE-India, a former NGO and now a social enterprise, with considerable experience in introducing MIS); and • In Madagascar - Agronomes et Vétérinaires sans Frontières (AVSF), an international NGO based in France and active in 20 countries worldwide. A project management team at IFAD headquarters provided technical support, supervision, coordination, and overall monitoring and evaluation.
Targeting SCAMPIS was implemented in three countries with widely differing contexts in order to build broad experience in the market-oriented approach to dissemination of drip irrigation equipment, as well as to identify the most viable model for replication. The poorest households were the project’s main target. The three countries selected - India (specifically Orissa State, where iDE-India had no prior involvement), Guatemala and Madagascar - were chosen based on three main criteria: 1) high incidence of rural poverty; 2) high proportion of indigenous people and marginalized groups; and 3) considerable water scarcity. Since IFAD had an ongoing portfolio in each of the SCAMPIS target areas, the project provided an opportunity to mainstream any positive outcomes while serving the potential demand in these areas.
What makes SCAMPIS different SCAMPIS allowed IFAD to test and refine a new approach to micro-irrigation. By working simultaneously in three countries, SCAMPIS was able to learn from successes and challenges experienced in different contexts, and thus develop a model which, with a few adaptations, could be replicated in a wide variety of contexts. SCAMPIS had a number of other distinguishing elements: 1. The public-private partnership IFAD increasingly recognizes the importance of partnerships between the commercial private sector and development organizations as a
means of achieving sustainable local development. The COOPERNIC-IFAD partnership added an important and innovative ingredient to the mix: it challenged the SCAMPIS team to adopt a market-oriented approach from the outset, and to maintain a focus on commercial viability throughout the implementation of the project. 2. The technology In each country, the project dedicated an initial period to analysing the specificity of the local context and needs, and designing the most appropriate drip irrigation kit. Thus, the kit was customised differently in each country, whereby the three basic components were selected from the following options: • For a water lifting device - a treadle pump, pedal pump or motor pump; • For a water storage device - a bucket, bag or drum (in Guatemala, large drums were already available from other programmes); • For a water distribution device - tubes to cover plots of varying sizes (from 20 to 100 m2) and different configurations (square or rectangular).
©IFAD/Cecilia Ruberto
In each case, the locally adapted drip irrigation kit signified a low-cost, user-friendly technology, easy to repair locally and flexible enough to be
adapted to different contexts of water access and user needs (group or individual). Given that poor soil quality was another major factor limiting productivity for poor farmers, SCAMPIS trained the beneficiary farmers in the production of liquid organic fertilizers (LOFs) and natural pesticides that could be dispersed in liquid form through the irrigation system. The same principle – of delivery straight to the root with no wastage – enabled the efficient use of these inputs. In India, farmers learned safe and simple methods of producing homegrown fertilizers – such as ‘vermiwash’, a product made using earthworms. In Guatemala, farmers were taught simple techniques for fertilization and natural pesticide production. The application of these technologies was reinforced by SCAMPIS through a comprehensive capacity-building programme. In addition to awareness-raising to generate interest in adopting drip irrigation, the project provided training in the cultivation of highvalue crops, as well as in basic maintenance of the drip irrigation system. Other, more specific training courses were delivered by the implementers in each country; for example, in Guatemala, emphasis was placed on training beneficiaries in health and nutrition. Moreover, extensive capacity building was provided to SCAMPIS country teams to ensure
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that they were fully equipped to provide support to the beneficiaries in using the new technology. 3. Financial support SCAMPIS offered subsidies to poor rural farmers to enable them to purchase the drip irrigation kits made available through the project. The amount of subsidies varied, ranging from 90 per cent for the most destitute to 50 per cent for those who were better off. The subsidies remain in place for the poorest farmers in order to ensure their continued access to the equipment, and have been decreased progressively for those better off as the market develops. A second set of subsidies was provided to the retailers and importers, so that the initial risks involved in the venture were borne by the project. The project paid for the initial tranche of equipment, anticipating that demand would be generated as word spread among local farmers of the excellent results obtained with the drip irrigation kits. Again, the subsidy amount varied depending on the context. The subsidies were gradually reduced over the project duration, as the businesses moved towards becoming fully self-sustaining. 4. The value-chain approach Without a sound methodology for introduction and dissemination, even the most innovative technology can fail to take root and risk becoming ineffective. The project’s objective was to set up a sustainable local supply chain for the drip irrigation equipment, while stimulating the demand for it. The premise was that positive results obtained by farmers would increase the demand for the kits. Once a critical mass of users was achieved, the supply chain would become self-sustaining. Improved incomes and growing sales would make it possible to progressively withdraw subsidies. It was also planned that, in addition to selling the equipment, the retailers would gradually take on the capacity-building role (initially performed by the project) by offering pre- and post-sales services to farmers. While such service provision would be a novel aspect of commercial trading for most of the concerned retailers, it would help create a more robust supply chain, as well as present 4
a new source of income for retailers, offsetting the eventual withdrawal of the market-opening subsidies. In line with the above strategy, once the appropriate composition of the kits was established for each context, SCAMPIS followed a market approach to create a sustainable supply chain for the customized kits through local retailers and manufacturers. In this way the project ensured that the technology would continue to be available to vulnerable smallholder farmers in the long-term, and not simply for the duration of the project.
Results and impact Over a period of three years, SCAMPIS successfully distributed 30,000 kits to poor smallholder farmers in three countries. For the beneficiary households and communities, food security improved, often exponentially; income was generated from the sale of surpluses; soil fertility was enhanced; and better water management meant there was more water available to produce more crops, thus helping mitigate water scarcity during the dry seasons. The kits allowed marginal or nonarable land to be made productive – most notably in India. There was also a marked reduction in disease and improvement in the quality of crops grown using MIS. The project also successfully developed local markets to supply MIS kits. The local supply chains have since made significant steps towards autonomy in all three countries. In India, SCAMPIS set up an efficient supply chain from manufacturers to village-based promoters. In Madagascar, three businesses were set up, while a local manufacturer boosted his sales volume and at project close expressed his confidence in the emerging market for local pumps and parts for kits. In Guatemala, a national importer of commercial drip irrigation downsized the coverage of the smallest available package from a minimum of 600 m2 to 50 m2 and has since embarked on a scaling-up strategy to boost sales. The following results were recorded by the project: • Average yields increased dramatically in each country. • Overall, there were massive increases in productivity.
• Households learned how to diversify cultivation and grow high-value cash crops in addition to staples. Farming families earned income by selling surpluses. Sales contributed more significantly to household income. • Households saved on food expenses by growing their own vegetables. • Cropping seasons were extended. • Significant water savings were made compared to previous consumption rates. • Areas five or six times greater could be irrigated with the same amount of water. • In India, the use of organic fertilizers and natural pesticides enabled farmers to grow better quality produce and sell it at higher rates. Some farmers have grouped together to collectively sell their organic products and command premium prices. • The documented savings in time and labour particularly benefited women and children, who traditionally cultivate small household plots and fetch water. The use of drip irrigation made it easier to water crops and to weed, and also reduced pests, thus diminishing the overall time and effort spent on cultivation.
• Calculations show that the cost of equipment at local market prices equals between one or two harvests of low-value crops. In India, SCAMPIS was successful in linking to self-help groups, particularly those run by women. The project recorded an overall increase in productivity of 564 per cent, and an increase in incomes of 514 per cent, due to the high-value cash crops that were introduced to replace staple crops. In Guatemala, where previously irrigation kits were available only for larger plots (no less than 600 m2), the project worked with importers and retailers to make smaller kits (covering 100 to 50 m2) available to poor farmers. Until a kit of 50 m2 was available, the poorest households with severely limited access to land and water were grouped together into five households, sharing plots of 100 m2. One group of five families grew green beans, and productivity rose by 700 per cent, allowing them to enter the international market and earn almost €200 per harvesting season from their 100 m2 irrigated plot.
Results from Guatemala, India and Madagascar Increased productivity per plot (growing tomatoes; yield increase per 100 m2 plot per cropping cycle): - Guatemala: +125 kg (45%) - India: +224 kg (564%) - Madagascar: +140 kg (119%) Increased income per family (growing tomatoes, US$ increase per 100 m2 plot over 4 weeks): - Guatemala: +US$30 (55%) - India: +US$40 (514%) - Madagascar: +US$27 (150%) Time spent irrigating (hours per 100 m2 plot per month) - Guatemala: -42 hours (49%) - India: no previous irrigation - Madagascar: -43 hours (38%) Average reduction in time spent irrigating: 65 per cent Decreased expenses on chemical pesticides per 100 m2 plot - Guatemala: -US$46.2 (91%) - India: no previous cultivation - Madagascar: -US$2.34 (88 %)
More food for the family: Micro-irrigation frees farmers from dependence on rainfall, allowing them to grow vegetables during the dry season. This leads to more diversity in family diets, improving health. More income: With more output, farmers can now sell produce at the local market, increasing family incomes. This is a strong incentive for farmers to invest in micro-irrigation. Time and labour savings: Use of technology reduces pests and makes it easier to weed and collect water, reducing the overall time spent cultivating irrigated crops. Water and cost savings: The same amount of water now produces more vegetables, translating into a longer cropping season and a shorter hungry season. Reduced incidence of pests reduces costs. Affordable and sustainable technology: Since micro-irrigation allows for higher production, the rural poor can save on each harvest, along the life cycle of the equipment, and are eventually able to afford to purchase new equipment from the market.
Longer cropping season (number of weeks per 100 m2 plot per year): - Guatemala: +4 weeks - India: +4 weeks - Madagascar: +8 weeks Increased family savings (US$ equivalent for tomato crop over 100 m2 plot every 4 weeks) - Guatemala: US$22 (254%) - India: US$40 (3,056%) - Madagascar: US$14 (359%) Water saved (litres per 100 m2 plot per 4 weeks) - Guatemala: -25,900 litres (66%) - India: no previous irrigation - Madagascar: -14,200 litres (53%) Average water saving: 46 per cent of water consumption Number of harvests of low-value crops needed to buy a renewal of 100 m2 kit at market price - Guatemala: 2 harvests - India: 1 harvest - Madagascar: 0.5 harvest 5
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The implementing agency, Funcafé, focused heavily on improving nutrition- and health-related knowledge and practices among the target population. Funcafé also targeted 124 schools, which it equipped with MIS vegetable gardens. Methods of cultivation and preparation of natural fertilizers and pesticides were taught alongside topics on nutrition and sexual health. New crops were introduced, but the focus was primarily on growing vegetables for home consumption. The project was able to rehabilitate land that had been classified as useless because of its poor soil quality. In Madagascar, AVSF focused on adapting the equipment and engaging local artisans in the manufacture of kit parts, thus developing local industry. The overall productivity increased by 41 per cent, while incomes increased by an average of €30 per household per harvest/season. The results were mixed when it came to decreasing subsidies to retailers, but overall showed a positive trend. Subsidy levels in Guatemala continued to be reduced, in Madagascar they stabilized, but were not reduced in India.
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Lessons and challenges SCAMPIS was able to address two frequent shortcomings of drip irrigation projects: that they do not reach the poorest target groups, and are not sustainable in the long-term. First, the project demonstrated the advantages of precision targeting by taking the time to understand the particular needs of targeted groups and adapting the technology accordingly. Second, it took a market-oriented approach to establish a sustainable supply chain for the adapted technology. The high degree of adaptability proved to be a key feature and a particular strength of the SCAMPIS approach to drip irrigation, given that the contexts in the three target countries were so different. The equipment was selected on the basis of its adaptability to the local context and terrain, taking into account such factors as the availability of water, whether the users were a group or individuals, whether local retailers and manufacturers were available and willing to sell/produce the kits, etc. However, after three years of implementation, the sustainability of the supply chain for the irrigation equipment is still constrained by low business volumes. At project close, the development of the market was still in its early stages and the lack of consistent rural financial services made it difficult for beneficiaries to purchase the kits. The market is clearly in need of continued support to enable it to become self-sustaining. With the support of new donors, the momentum gained by SCAMPIS is being maintained in all three countries. Ideally, future projects implementing a market approach to drip irrigation should ensure that the credit needs of beneficiaries are met. Without credit, vulnerable farmers struggle to raise even the required 10 per cent of the kits’ price. Since the retailers and manufacturers needed support in marketing the drip irrigation kit, SCAMPIS conducted an extensive marketing and promotional campaign aimed at drawing in as many users as possible. To achieve this, it was first necessary to build the capacity of SCAMPIS country teams in product marketing and promotion. Adaptability was a key element of the project approach. Both the technology and the methodology for its introduction required
Replication and scaling up for the future
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considerable adaptation, taking into account farmers’ needs and the specificity of smallholder land plots in each country. In each case, the project took care to ensure that the basic components needed for the locally adapted kits – i.e. devices for lifting, storing and distributing the water, as well as liquid fertilizers – were available locally. The inclusion of women has been uneven, but shows the potential to have a very positive impact. Where women were explicitly targeted, as in Guatemala, the project reached a 75 per cent inclusion rate. In Madagascar, where women were not specifically targeted, this figure stood at 12 per cent. Though tested successfully in a variety of environments, the use of liquid organic fertilizers was not widely promoted, largely because attention was focused on tackling other aspects of implementation. However, in India, where it was most widely used, the results were very positive. Strong South-South collaboration and knowledge exchange were a particular strength of the project. A learning event held in Madagascar, which was attended by project teams from the three pilot countries, helped create a knowledge base to facilitate the mainstreaming and scaling up of the SCAMPIS approach across IFAD’s portfolio and that of partner organizations in each country. The event also allowed the SCAMPIS country teams to learn from each other’s comparative strengths in the market approach: nutrition and food preparation in Guatemala, marketing in India, and industry development in Madagascar.
AVSF has committed to replicate the market approach to drip irrigation in those French-speaking countries where it works, including Comoros and Seychelles, Haiti and Togo. AVSF is also pursuing the idea of involving big buyers in a contract farming scheme in Madagascar that uses drip irrigation kits. A new IFAD project plans to scale up the approach in Guatemala, while USAID and Funcafé intend to replicate MIS in the west of the country. The latter has added drip irrigation to its portfolio of activities addressing household nutrition and health. In India, the federal government is scaling up elements of the project within a development strategy that targets tribal and scheduled castes. IFAD plans to mainstream the market approach to drip irrigation in a new project targeting tribal peoples in Jharkhand state.
The SCAMPIS experience has not ended with the close of the COOPERNIC grant. The momentum and positive results generated in each country have convinced other funding bodies to support the approach through followup projects. With additional funding and a supportive policy dialogue, the market approach to drip irrigation can now be scaled up in the three pilot countries and replicated elsewhere. It has already been incorporated in the governmental regional strategy in Madagascar, as well as in IFAD’s strategic investments in the country.
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©IFAD/Cecilia Ruberto
Sources Interviews: Audrey Nepveu de Villemarceau, Technical Adviser, IFAD; Jean Payen, Consultant, IFAD SCAMPIS documents: Progress Reports (2009- 2012); Final Report 2012 Centre for Evaluation – Saarland University: Final Evaluation of ‘SCAMPIS’ – Scaling up micro-irrigation systems in India, Madagascar and Guatemala (November 2012)
SCAMPIS materials The SCAMPIS website: http://www.ifad.org/english/water/scampis/ Scampis M&E leaflet: http://www.ifad.org/english/water/scampis/pub/leafle_me.pdf Micro-irrigation for Food Security: SCAMPIS presentation at World Water Week, Stockholm 2012 http://bambuser.com/v/2935141 Contacts: Rudolph Cleveringa E-mail:
[email protected] Audrey Nepveu E-mail:
[email protected] IFAD Technical Advisory Division www.ifad.org/english/water
AVSF à Madagascar: http://www.avsf.org/fr/posts/630/full/madagascar Les expériences innovantes d’AVSF: micro-irrigation à Madagascar http://www.avsf.org/fr/posts/1425/full/les-experiences-innovantes-d-avsf-micro-irrigationa-madagascar Improving the food security of more than 10,000 families by installing 10,000 micro- and ferti-irrigation systems in impoverished smallholder regions EN - http://www.avsf.org/en/posts/1064/full/micro-irrigation-in-madagascar FR - http://www.avsf.org/fr/posts/854/full/micro-irrigation-a-madagascar
IFAD projects Via Paolo di Dono, 44 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 06 54591 Fax: +39 06 5043463 E-mail:
[email protected] www.ifad.org www.ruralpovertyportal.org ifad-un.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/ifad www.twitter.com/ifadnews 8 www.youtube.com/user/ifadTV
Guatemala National Rural Development Programme: Central and Eastern Regions: http://operations.ifad.org/web/ifad/operations/country/project/tags/guatemala/1317/ project_overview India The Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Programme: http://operations.ifad.org/web/ifad/operations/country/project/tags/india/1155/project_overview Madagascar Support Programme for Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies: http://operations.ifad.org/web/ifad/operations/country/project/tags/madagascar/1401/ project_overview
October 2013
International Fund for Agricultural Development
