FULL TITLE: Microcredit and Crop Agriculture: New Technologies and Other Innovations to Address Food Insecurity among the Poor ROOM: Tsavo B PANEL: Chair: Mr. Shadreck Mapfumo, Vice President, MicroEnsure, South Africa Panelist: Mr. John Kihia, Country Director – Kenya, KickStart International, Kenya Panelist: Mr. Michael Njuguna, Director Finance & Business Development, Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI), Kenya

1. Agriculture Water
Management:
An Essential Solution to
Poverty in Africa
John Kihia,
Country Director, Kenya
8th April 2010

2. True Nature of Agriculture in Africa
• 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
• Not enough food to feed family
• Other sources of income scarce
• Perceived as a problem
• Are they really a problem?

3. Smallholder Farmers
• Have access to land
• Have basic skills and labour available
• Industrious and Innovative
• 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

4. Closer look at Africa
• Costs? Risk? Returns?
Facts
• Huge Agricultural potential
But
• Terrible Food Shortage
Famine / Malnutrition
Yet
• 40% produce wasted
So What is Wrong?

5. A List of things has been identified
•Seeds •Post harvest storage
•Soil fertility •Local Value adding
•Knowledge/Skills •Finance / Credit
•Information about Markets •Regulations
•Access to Markets •Cooperatives/Associations
•Infrastructure

6. 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

7. Feast & Famine Cycle: Supply Curve
Feast
Food Production
Famine
Time

8. Feast & Famine Cycle: Demand
Feast
Food Production
Demand
Famine
Time

9. Effect of Increasing Rainfed Production!
Feast
Food Production
Demand
Famine
Time

10. Need to AddWater!!
If Water is Available all year:
• Supply and demand is aligned
• 3 – 5 crops per year
• Can plant high value vs. drought resistant
- more produce all the time

11. Irrigated Production Aligns Supply & Demand
Food Production
Supply
Demand
Time

12. 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

13. KickStart’s Strategy
Work 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 network
4) Develop the Market: advertise, promote
5) Impact Assessment
6) Exit Marketing Support
& Continuous Impact Monitoring

14. MoneyMaker Irrigation Pump
Super MoneyMaker Pump
• Manually operated
• Two-cylinder
• Foot operated
• High performance
MoneyMaker Hip Pump
• Manually operated
• Low-cost
• Light weight
• Portable

15. 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

16. Felix: Not an isolated case
By end February 2010:
• Over 144,000 pumps out there
• At least 88,600 “Felixes” using them
• Over 443,000 people out of poverty
• Together they are generating over
US$ 88.6 Million annually

17. Africa’s Potential
Africa
•The Challenge is tough but it can 13 -15
Million
be met!
• 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

18. THANK YOU