Jain Irrigation Systems

Jain has built its business by improving the livelihoods of 5 million small farmers in India. Based in the country’s western Maharashtra state, Jain began selling micro-irrigation systems in 1986, when it recognized that the technology, commonly used in industrial agriculture, could be adapted for local growers, whose tiny landholdings were traditionally watered by rain or blunt flooding techniques. As Jain’s “More crop per drop” slogan promised, yields increased dramatically—50% to 300%, depending on the plant—as did farmers’ incomes. And Jain continues to boost both in other ways as well: It has introduced more-viable crop varieties and trained farmers on more productive growing techniques, such as high-density planting for mangoes. The company also branched into solar water pumps (electricity is often scarce on the farm), financing, and food processing—for the likes of Coca-Cola and Unilever—so that there is a ready market for these farmers’ wares. The company, the world’s second-largest seller of drip-irrigation systems, now does business in 116 countries.