KickStart International

05/29/2026

After flooding comes the hard work of rebuilding.

In Gaza province, Mozambique 🇲🇿, farming communities across Mapai, Massangena, Mabalane, and Guija are doing exactly that. The KickStart team just wrapped two weeks of pump demonstrations with farmers who are ready to get their farms producing again.

Two hundred MoneyMaker Max and Starter pumps — through a partnership with FAO and the Skoll Foundation — will be distributed within two weeks, equipping these farmers for stronger weather resilience.

05/15/2026

Sometimes the best way to learn is to try it yourself 🌱

More than 60 farmers from the FADAMA group in Ikere, Ekiti State, Nigeria, recently joined KickStart International for hands-on pump demonstrations and irrigation training.

“Fadama” is a Hausa word for irrigable land, and Nigeria's FADAMA program helps support farming communities across the country with access to agricultural resources.

Farmers tested our MoneyMaker pumps firsthand, asked questions, and explored practical solutions for year-round farming. Excited for many more conversations, demonstrations, and connections with these farmers in the days ahead!

05/01/2026

Where pumps go, growth follows! 🌱

Last week, the Samaria Community-Based Organization in Bomet County, Kenya, gathered for a MoneyMaker pump demonstration in the South Rift region. The group confirmed they have funds ready in their treasury and plans to purchase 10 pumps at the end of May.

That kind of momentum — organized, community-funded, and farmer-led — is what makes the difference! We can't wait to see what they grow next.

04/22/2026

What does Earth Day look like beyond headlines and campaigns?

It looks like this.

In Kenya, Charity is in her garden—checking her crops, managing water, and making decisions that shape how her land performs over time.

This is where environmental stewardship starts: in the day-to-day work of farmers.

With support from KickStart International, irrigation helps make that work more consistent. It allows farmers like Charity to respond to changing conditions and keep their land in use across seasons.

As this year’s Earth Day theme reminds us, progress is not abstract—it is already underway, driven by local action and practical solutions.

Our power, our planet. Happy Earth Day 🌍

04/17/2026

In Monapo District, Mozambique, young horticulture farmers gathered for a two-day hands-on demonstration of MoneyMaker irrigation pumps — part of the Opening Opportunities project with World Food Programme, Muva, and Gapi.

The focus: show farmers what dry season irrigation makes possible, and connect them with financing options that make pump ownership realistic.

Thank you to our partners for the collaboration on the ground!

03/22/2026

Happy World Water Day 💧

This year's global theme is Water and Gender — a reminder that water access shapes daily life for farming families across the world, and that women are central to how those farms run.

Women make up a significant share of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The crops they grow and the income they earn are essential to how farming households eat, plan, and stay afloat through difficult seasons.

Yet less than 5% of the region's farmland is irrigated. Most farmers still depend entirely on rainfall — and when the rains fail, there's little cushion.

Research from the McKinsey Global Institute makes the case clearly: irrigation protects against 90–100% of expected crop losses from drought, with a return of 5 to 10 times the investment. Getting affordable tools to the farmers who need them most is one of the strongest investments available in rural food security.

Read our latest post on what the research says: https://kickstart.org/blog/research-irrigation-as-effective-drought-tool/

03/19/2026

Our 2025 Annual Report is here — and the numbers tell a remarkable story.

Even as international aid funding contracted sharply this year, farmers across sub-Saharan Africa kept planting, irrigating, and building better livelihoods. In FY2025, through KickStart's work with smallholder farmers, more than 80,000 people took a major step out of poverty, farmers generated $11 million in new profits and wages, and 800,000 people gained access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Behind every number is a family putting in the work to build a better life. Discover the farmers behind these results: https://doc.storydoc.com/RxjAKS

03/11/2026

The data is in: irrigation is one of the most effective ways to protect farms from extreme weather.

A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute puts numbers behind something many farmers already know from experience. When water is reliable, the whole growing season changes.

The research shows irrigation can protect against 90–100% of expected crop losses from drought, while delivering benefits five to ten times the cost of the investment.

Yet today less than 5% of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated, leaving many farmers dependent on rainfall that doesn’t always arrive when it should.

If we want farms to withstand drought and extreme weather, expanding access to irrigation is essential.

Read more in our latest blog: https://kickstart.org/blog/research-irrigation-as-effective-drought-tool/

03/10/2026

02/24/2026

When irrigation training reaches farmers, demand follows!

Last week in Zaria, Nigeria, 25+ farmers came together at Ahmadu Bello University to learn how the MoneyMaker Max pump operates — and how to maintain it.

Using pumps procured by the University’s Research Centre, the training moved step-by-step through practical use and care. Farmers engaged directly with the equipment and asked detailed questions about field application.

Many expressed interest in purchasing a pump following the session.

With support from AGRA, this session translated irrigation knowledge into clear next steps for farmers ready to invest in year-round production. 🌱