Agriculture Water

Management: An Essential Solution to

Poverty in Africa

John Kihia,

Country Director, Kenya

8th April 2010

• 70% of the population live in rural areas as small scale farmers

• ½ to 5 acres per family is common

• Struggling in cash/market economies

True Nature of Agriculture in Africa

• Not enough food to feed family

• Other sources of income scarce

• Perceived as a problem

• Are they really a problem?

• Have access to land

• Have basic skills and labour available

• Industrious and Innovative

Smallholder Farmers

• Entrepreneurial, willing to invest time and energy

• Motivation to succeed, ready to use whatever they have to look after their families

• In aggregate: There is massive reservoir of unrecognized, unexploited capital in form of social/human (not financial) waiting for a practical opportunity – A Sleeping Giant

• Costs? Risk? Returns?

Facts

• Huge Agricultural potential

But

Closer look at Africa

• Terrible Food Shortage

Famine / Malnutrition

Yet

• 40% produce wasted

So What is Wrong?

•Seeds

•Soil fertility

•Knowledge/Skills

A List of things has been identified

•Post harvest storage

•Local Value adding

•Finance / Credit

•Information about Markets

•Access to Markets

•Infrastructure

•Regulations

•Cooperatives/Associations

Fact

•Only 4.9% of Agriculture in Africa is

irrigated, the rest is rainfed

•Some parts – 2 rainy cycles/year

•Most parts – 1 rainy cycle/year

Feast & Famine Cycle: Supply CurveFood Production Feast

Time

Food Production

Famine

Feast & Famine Cycle: DemandFood Production Feast

Demand

Time

Food Production

Famine

Demand

Effect of Increasing Rainfed Production!Food Production

Feast

Time

Food Production

Famine

Demand

If Water is Available all year:

• Supply and demand is aligned

Need to AddWater!!

• 3 – 5 crops per year

• Can plant high value vs. drought resistant

- more produce all the time

Irrigated Production Aligns Supply & DemandFood Production

Demand

Supply

Time

Food Production

Demand

KickStart International Inc.

KickStart International is a social enterprise developing small

scale businesses in Africa

Mission

Economic Growth . Employment . Wealth Creation

Operates

Country programs: Kenya, Tanzania, Mali & Burkina Faso

B2B: 18 Sub Saharan Countries

KickStart’s StrategyWork like a business, not like a charity

1) Identify Profitable Business Opportunities

2) Design the Required Capital Equipment

3) Establish Supply Chain: manufacture, distribute and work with dealer networkdistribute and work with dealer network

4) Develop the Market: advertise, promote

5) Impact Assessment

6) Exit Marketing Support

& Continuous Impact Monitoring

Super MoneyMaker Pump• Manually operated

• Two-cylinder

• Foot operated

• High performance

MoneyMaker Irrigation Pump

MoneyMaker Hip Pump• Manually operated

• Low-cost

• Light weight

• Portable

Felix

• Was earning US $40/month

• Bought a pump and returned to his village

• Now making US $ 1,000/month

• Felix and his wife employ 3 people full-time & 10 during harvest

• Now spends 10 times as much as he did before on:

– Seeds

– Fertilizers

– Agro-chemicals

Felix: Not an isolated case

By end February 2010:

• Over 144,000 pumps out there

• At least 88,600 “Felixes” using them• At least 88,600 “Felixes” using them

• Over 443,000 people out of poverty

• Together they are generating over

US$ 88.6 Million annually

Africa’s Potential

•The Challenge is tough but it can

be met!

Africa

13 -15

Million

• Africa’s population is growing (1.5 billion by 2050)

• Need more and more food, all the time! Irrigation is

essential

•Potential users for MoneyMaker pumps estimated to be

13 - 15 million families in SSA

THANK YOU