Gates Foundation Awards$13.4 Million to IDE
World poverty is a problem. IDE is a solution. After remarkable success in creating more income for rural subsistence farmers the world over, IDE is attracting the attention of some very big spenders.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has just awarded International Development Enterprises (IDE) a $13.4 million grant to develop and promote low-cost irrigation methods for rural poor in Africa and Asia and to help create markets for the agricultural products they produce.
IDE plans to increase the net incomes of 40,000 small-plot subsistence farmers, mostly in rural areas who earn $1 a day, by at least $200 annually. Additionally, the technology sales and markets these farmers create will increase incomes of another 60,000 by $100 annually.
“IDE is leading a revolution in helping subsistence farmers who live on $1 dollar a day to help themselves,” said IDE founder and president, Paul Polak. “The Gates grant is an affirmation that IDE delivers sustainable results with a proven market-based approach. This grant will allow us to take our approach a step further by creating the very best and lowest cost irrigation systems and making them available to people who need them most.”
IDE has assisted 17 million people over 25 years and created over 10,000 micro enterprises.
“The Gates Foundation gave IDE $13.4 million because we recognized IDE as a leader in helping subsistence farmers lift themselves out of poverty,” said Roy Steiner from the Gates Foundation. “They are perfecting the method of assisting farmers through access to water and markets. We are proud to be partnering with them.”
The grant will sponsor research and development of irrigation technology and markets in Ethiopia and Zambia in Africa, and Nepal and Myanmar in Asia, over four years.
The approach rests on sound economic principles of making labor more productive through access to low-cost irrigation systems and with no direct subsidies. IDE uses donated capital to develop affordable, income-producing technologies for smallholders and creates markets for them. This approach spawns the development of sustainable market-driven micro-enterprises that reach millions.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports grantees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Internationally, the Foundation supports work in more than 100 countries. In 2005, about 70 percent of grants went toward global efforts; the rest was dedicated to improving lives in the United States.
|
