Irrigation plays a vital role in improving agriculture productivity and its consequent impact on poverty reduction is particularly striking. Various studies have found that in states where farmers have access to irrigation, the incidence of poverty in half, as compared to states where agriculture is primarily rainfed. West Bengal is one such state, where only 35 per cent of the cropped area is irrigated.

The proposed project villages are located in the Farakka block of the Murshidabad district. With a total pop 2.74 lakh, this region is one of the most socio-economically backward blocks in the state. The project villages are located along the local Kalai River(local stream flowing from Jharkhand border to Ganga river), an area prone to frequent flooding and occasional droughts. Agriculture and animal husbandry are the primary sources of income. Nearly 80% of the farmers, (mostly tribal and minority groups) are marginal farmers and sharecroppers, farming less than 1.5 hectares of land, with an average income of Rs 32000-40000 per annum, under normal rainfall conditions. Agriculture in these parts is predominantly rainfed providing a single crop of paddy or jute. In normal rainfall conditions, the yield of paddy is 2500 kg/ha falling to as low as 1400 kg/ha in sub-normal rainfall conditions. Some farmers are able to harvest a second crop of pulses if the monsoon is normal and there is sufficient residual soil moisture. Overdependence on the monsoon and the monocropping limitation results in very low productivity and compels most farmers are to migrate for employment in the offseason to the nearby towns. It has been observed that Farmers using irrigation facilities( less than 8% of farmers currently )  are able to harvest three crops earning them incomes 141% more than those grow rainfed crops.

On the overall, agriculture practices are outmoded and unscientific; farmers lack information on improved varieties of seeds and other inputs. Lack of access to the market is another key challenge, as most farmers sell their produce to local traders and middlemen and are often denied fair prices.

Lift irrigation(LI) is a method by which water, instead of being transported by natural flow (as in gravity-fed canal systems), is lifted from a river or irrigation canals using pumps or other mechanical means. LI is particularly useful in regions of erratic rainfall, undulating topography where water sources are typically low lying. Installing LI in such regions reduces monsoon dependency, boosts overall productivity and most importantly enables farmers to harvest two and even three crops in a year. LI schemes are typically co-operatively owned by groups of small and marginal farmers.

Ambuja Cement Foundation has already supported three LI schemes in the project area, covering 223 farmers, currently irrigating 53 hectares; the average landholding of these farmers being 0.25 hectares (2 bighas). Post the installation of the LI, the farmers are harvesting three crops in a year (paddy, pulse/mustard, and vegetables) increasing cropping intensity by about 200%. After seeing the results of the existing LI schemes, a large number of local farmers have approached us for similar support with a  willingness to contribute to the overall project cost. 

1. Proven results of the interventions
2. Community involvement and contribution towards project cost
3. Project Sustainability through community ownership

Set up in 1993, The Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) started out as corporate foundation, actively engaged in a wide range of community development services in the areas where its parent organization, Ambuja Cements Ltd (ACL), has set up manufacturing units (Ambuja Cements Limited is part of the global conglomerate Lafarge Holcim, and is among the leading cement companies in India).

Recognizing the extent of deprivation and therefore developmental initiatives needed in rural India, the geographical scope of the foundation’s work has grown far beyond its plant operations to areas where the need is the greatest. Today ACF  is a Pan-India implementing organization, operating in 11 states, across 32 districts, covering 2073 villages. ACF works with  1,75,000 Farmers, has trained 45,000 rural youth in their Skill & Entrepreneurship Development Institutes,  collectivized 28,000 rural women and has about 400 community health workers working in villages.