“Partnering to Promote Smallholder Irrigation in SS Africa” by Peter Jump at the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference. A recording of the presentation can be found on the conference playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSBeKOIXsg3JNyPowwJj6NDSpx4vlnCYj.

1. Partnering to Promote Smallholder Irrigation in SS Africa
Food & Income Security, Livelihoods & Climate Change Resilience
www.kickstart.org
@KickStart_Intl

2. Sub Saharan Africa
World’s Poorest & Hungriest Place
 49% below Poverty Line
 30% Hungry
 40% Under-5s Stunted
Population = 1.4 Billion
Imports $40B food/year
 2.5 Billion by 2050  4.0 Billion by 2100
Climate Change Big Negative Impacts

3. 80% of the Poorest in SS Africa Smallholder
Rural Farmers
Low Yields  Low Incomes  Can’t Afford Enough Inputs
Trapped in Cycle of Poverty

4. RAINFED FARMING

5. Rain Fed
Farming
Irrigated
Agriculture
SWITCHING FROM
Best Way for Millions of Farmers to Make More Money & Escape Poverty
Failing
Subsistence
Farms
Profitable
Family
Farms
Low Value/Staple Crops
1-2 Harvests/year
 Flooded Markets
Low Prices
< 40% Spoils
No Crop if Rains Fail or
after Floods
High Value Crops
 Fruit/Veg
Multiple Harvests/yr
Sell Year-Round
esp. in Off-Seasons
 High Prices at Farm Gate
Save Crops if Rains Fail
 Replant Quickly after Floods
TO

6. IRRIGATED FARMING

7. ~ 4% - 6% Irrigated
~4% - 6% Farmland
in
Sub-Saharan Africa
• 60% South Africa & Madagascar
• 40% Large-Scale Farms
Irrigation  Food Security & Income Security
 Annual
‘Hungry Seasons’
 Food Insecurity
16% - 20% Farmland Globally is Irrigated  40% of Food
 ~ 40% in India & Asia; 14% in Latin America
~ 70% by Individual Smallholders

8. SSA has Plentiful Water Sources
Rivers, Springs, Streams, Lakes
Shallow Aquifers w/
Hand Dug Wells
Rain Water Catchment Ponds/Dams
~20% of SSA farmers have Surface or
Shallow Ground Water on their Farms.
SSA Uses: < 10% of Renewable Ground Water
< 5% of Renewable Surface Water
Others can dig/build
Rain Water Catchments

9. Almost No Irrigation in Africa!
History and donor neglect explain the lack of irrigation in SSA today
Sub-Saharan Africa has little history of irrigation.
Historically, abundant resources and low populations made irrigation a low priority, and few appropriate irrigation technologies exist for poor SSA farmers
Donors and policy-makers neglected irrigation as a solution.
They stopped funding irrigation after ill-conceived, large-scale schemes failed in the 1970s & 80s
Even today, small-scale irrigation has few champions.
For Donors, Governments and INGOs irrigation falls between Ag & WASH. Governments prefer big schemes. No major corporations promote it.
Environmentalists fear over-irrigation.
Beginning to irrigate is a major behavior change.
Very poor farmers are particularly risk averse –ill-advised change or a wasted investment can lead to hunger and starvation
Convincing farmers to irrigate takes time and money.
In SSA, farmers live in isolated, hard-to-reach places – no roads, no electricity; so educating them is costly and time intensive

10. KickStart’s Solution
Design & Promote Very Low-cost
Human Powered Pumps

11. MoneyMaker
Pumps are
Designed in
Kenya
Designed &
Tested with
Women & Men
Farmers
‘Farmer Centered’ Design
Highly Affordable
 Cost Recovery in One Harvest (3-4 months)
Strong & Durable
 Pumps Dirty Water
Gender Friendly to Use
Easy to:
 Install, Use & Maintain
w/o Training or Tools
 Efficient Pressurized Hosepipe Irrigation
 Nozzle / Sprinklers
Portable  Carry to Field & Store in House
Manual Operation  No Fuel Required
 High Energy Efficiency
Lot of Water w/ Little Effort
Stringent Design Criteria

12. Local Distributors & Retail Shops form the heart of profitable local
supply chains that import and sell KickStart products, spares, and accessories:
Partners: KickStart works through over 300 partners (NGOs, UN & Govt
Agencies, MFIs, Co-Ops, CBOs and Agribusinesses) with large networks of
farmers to cost-effectively reach and educate farmers:
U
TC
Malawi
Promoting Sustainable Local Supply Chain

13. Stakeholder
Forums
Farm Demos,
Field Days & Trainings
Exhibits & Shows
Radio & TV
Promotions
Works with Partners to Promote Irrigation & Pumps
“Agro-preneurship” Trainings & Training of Trainers Product Launches

14. “Rent-to-Try-&-Buy” Model
Rural Agricultural Agents Renting & Selling Pumps & Inputs to Smallholders
Rental
Pumps
Local Agri-Dealer
Rural
Agric.
Agent
Inputs
New
Pumps
Irrigation Agent owns 6 Rental Pumps
• Agent Recruits 6 Groups of 2 Farmers
• Agent Rents 1 Pump to each Group of 2 Farmers who share
the Rental Pump and pay rent to the Agent
• Agent teaches each Farmer to grow & sell vegetables & make
& save enough money in 4 months to buy a New Pump
• Each Farmer buys a New Pump & Inputs from Agri-Dealer
• Agent Earns Rent on Rental Pumps
• Agent gets Commission on 12 New Pumps & Inputs
Groups of
2 Farmers
Groups of
2 Farmers
Repeat 2 X
per Year
Everyone Makes Money

15. Primary Purpose & Biggest Benefits of Rent-to-Try-&-Buy
Biggest Benefits to Farmers
• Thousands of new Farmers can start irrigating & benefit from irrigating
• By Renting Pumps & getting Trained they can ‘try out’ irrigating at a low cost & with a
low risk
• They can quickly afford to buy & own their own pumps
Biggest Benefits to Pump Retailers: They:
• Make money selling pumps
• Sell more Farm Inputs - Farmers who irrigate fruits/veg
• Plant more crop cycles per year
• Require more crop protection
• Sell other irrigation/horticulture items – sprinklers, backpack sprayers, etc.