Poverty Reduction through Irrigation and Smallholder Markets.
IDE has proposed a simplified methodology to assist in the creation of pro-poor
rural market systems based on (a) water control, and (b) identification and exploitation
of market opportunities.
The Poverty Reduction through Irrigation and Smallholder Markets (PRISM) approach
envisions the smallholder as a micro-entrepreneur who transforms natural resources
(land and water), human resources (labour and know-how), and purchased inputs into
high-value agricultural products that can be marketed at economically rewarding
prices. The smallholder is seen as a rational, capable, and proactive member of
an integrated system of private-sector enterprises—including input suppliers, smallholders,
and output handlers—that coordinate themselves to fulfill specific market demands.