Phase 1

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**Water Efficiency in Rice and Cotton**

Project completed
The project aims at improving the household economy combined with the promotion of more efficient production of rice and cotton of 45,000 smallholder families in two regional clusters: Central Asia (Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan) and South Asia (India, Pakistan). To motivate rice and cotton farmers to be more efficient with irrigation water and other inputs, a push-pull approach is applied: smallholders receive technical assistance and market access for more efficient production while private companies enter into reliable business partnerships.

Country/region	Topic	Period	Budget
Asia	Agriculture & food security Water Agricultural water resources Water supply Water sector policy Agricultural development	01.10.2014 - 30.06.2018	CHF 3’454’600

The project in brief

Background	Rice and Cotton are two key crops. While rice is the most important staple food for humans, cotton is a key commodity for the textile industry. These two crops consume around 30% of the world irrigation water. Around 250 million smallholders are involved in the cultivation of rice and cotton. Cotton is relevant for food security because of its qualities in crop rotation as well as for income generation capacity. Furthermore, cotton seed oil is the most relevant kitchen oil in cotton regions.
Objectives	To improve water use efficiency of rice and cotton, firstly by promoting effective water use as well as better agronomic approaches, and by involving the private sector as well as platforms such as the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) and Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS).
Target groups	45’000 smallholders (15% of women; 85% of men) in four countries: India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic.
Medium-term outcomes	Rice and cotton farmers adopt more efficient and more effective production methods (push) Private sector companies purchase commodities from farmers who produce with more efficient and more sustainable methods (pull) Multi-stakeholder water stewardship plans are implemented (water policy) Push-Pull approach is scaled up to more farmers and more companies
Results	Expected results: RAS for 45’000 smallholders Secured market access for 70 to 80% of the farmers Policy influencing at local level Crowding-in of new companies. Results from previous phases: Stakeholder workshops in the four countries organised and joint planning Negotiations with private sector companies successfully completed Baselines elaborated and ready for use Joint elaboration of project document with a strong joint ownership
Directorate/federal office responsible	SDC
Credit area	Development cooperation
Project partners	Contract partner Swiss Non-profit Organisation HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Other partners Coop, Reismühle Brunnen, Mars Food, Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.
Coordination with other projects and actors	Coordination with SDC programs on efficient water use in the two geographic clusters CORIGAP (Closing rice yield gaps in Asia) FIBL – Langzeitversuch für biologischen Landbau Grow Africa GFRAS
Budget	Current phase Swiss budget CHF 3’454’600 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 3’409’282 Total project since first phase Budget inclusive project partner CHF 6’000’000
Project phases	Phase 2 01.11.2018 - 31.12.2022 (Completed) Phase 1 01.10.2014 - 31.10.2018 (Completed)

Further technical details

Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation	WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION AGRICULTURE WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION AGRICULTURE
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation	Basic drinking water supply Agricultural water resources Water sector policy and administrative management Water sector policy and administrative management Agricultural development
Cross-cutting topics	The project takes account of gender equality as a cross-cutting theme. The project takes account of democratisation, good governance and human rights as cross-cutting themes.
Aid Type	Mandate with fiduciary funds
Project number	7F09186