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OPIC Supports Sweetwater International March 2004
Sweetwater International, a U.S. small business based in Salt Lake City, Utah, retooled an old technology – sulfur burning – to combat high bicarbonate salt levels in irrigated water. Sweetwater’s Sulfurous Acid Generator (SAG) produces SO2 gas, which, when drawn through an irrigation stream, changes the water’s pH level and neutralizes harmful bicarbonate deposits in the water and soil. Thus plants are better able to draw water into their root systems. Eight years ago, Sweetwater settled on the Indus River basin bordering Pakistan and India as a market for its Sweetwater technology. The main supplier of potable water in Pakistan and its agricultural breadbasket, Punjab Province, the river basin had for millennia relied on freshwater runoff from the Himalayas as its source. Generations of heavy farming had placed too many demands on that supply, however, forcing farmers to turn instead to underground water – high in bicarbonates – as a new source. Its market niche established, Sweetwater Pakistan grew successfully in the country, undaunted by a market many others perceived to be risky. Indeed, Sweetwater President and CEO Edward Jackson welcomed the challenge. “We’ve had a great experience in Pakistan,” Jackson said. “They’ve been a great ally for the United States. And I believe the best way to stop terrorism is by feeding people and employing people. That’s what we’re trying to do in Pakistan.” Meeting OPIC Chief of Staff Joe Flynn at the Partnering for Clean Water in Asia Conference in Bangkok in July 2002 made Sweetwater Pakistan’s experience even better. Through Flynn, Jackson was put in touch with OPIC Senior Insurance Officer Suzanne Etcheverry; in short order, Sweetwater Pakistan obtained a $3 million OPIC loan and $1.1 million in OPIC political risk insurance. OPIC’s support made an immediate difference. The loan was used to purchase new farm equipment, build a storage barn and develop a cattle-feeding facility, upgrade Sweetwater Pakistan’s infrastructure, hire staff, and make improvements to the company’s SAG fabrication shop. As a result, Sweetwater Pakistan has established 20 model farms around Pakistan, from the Arabian Sea to Islamabad, which serve as training centers to spread the company’s technology. Jackson figures that “well over” 1000 Pakistani farmers have been trained in Sweetwater’s SAG technology.
Of his experience with OPIC, Jackson said, “We were first-time novices, so we had nothing to compare it to. But in my opinion, it was wonderful.” “From Sweetwater’s perspective, we have nothing but praise for OPIC,” he said. “Simply put, they took a U.S. company and helped it expand overseas. Whereas we had one employee in Pakistan 18 months ago, now we have 32 in the country and 15 in the United States. OPIC’s loan enabled that expansion, in a year-and-a-half. We had a great experience.” June 2006
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Most lay people know that farming, particularly in dry areas, depends on irrigation. Fewer might know that successful irrigation in turn depends on keeping down levels of dissolved substances – collectively known as salts – in irrigated water so that they don’t restrict plant roots’ ability to withdraw water from surrounding soil.
And, as is often the case with a small business with a good idea, Sweetwater Pakistan’s growth augurs an even brighter future, both for the company and Pakistan’s agricultural sector. Sweetwater Pakistan’s SAG technology, which among other benefits significantly improves protein content in fodder that is fed to cows, has caught the attention of Pakistan’s large dairy industry, and the company is pursuing possible joint ventures with industry leaders.