Alexander N. Anim demonstrating how the MoneyMaker Irrigation Pumps work while John Kinaga (left) and others including farmers and government representatives look on
Kickstart International, a non-profit social enterprise, has officially launched its low-cost irrigation pumps dubbed ‘MoneyMaker Irrigation onto the Ghanaian market.
The pumps come in two variants namely MoneyMaker Max Pump being sold at GH¢650 and MoneyMaker Hip Pump, which goes for GH¢480 across KickStart International’s distribution networks in the country.
They are expected to help meet the needs of smallholder farmers across Ghana to lift them out of poverty.
The MoneyMaker manually-operated irrigation pumps, BUSINESS GUIDE gathered, have been purchased by small-scale farmers and organizations throughout Africa for over 10 years in more than 20 countries.
They have been used by farmers in those countries to irrigate their lands, enabling them to move from rain-fed subsistence farming to year-round commercial irrigated agriculture.
In a statement at the launch of the pumps on Wednesday in Accra, Alexander N. Anim, West Africa Regional Head of KickStart International, explained that the MoneyMaker Irrigation Pumps have aided millions of smallholder farmers to come out of poverty in Africa.
He said KickStart International was working with a number of donor agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Ghana and across Africa to ensure that many farmers get the pumps.
This, according to him, is to ensure that farmers produce their crops throughout the year without having to sit idle for nine months for rainy season to start.
Director of Programme and Partnership Development, KickStart International, John Kinaga, explained that his outfit, which has its headquarters in Kenya, has been partnering governments in some countries across the continent to boost food security, as well as help rural farmers get out of poverty.
Demand for food on the continent is high but production levels remain low.
One way to address the growing food insecurity in Africa, he said, is to provide affordable mechanized irrigation assistance to farmers.
KickStart International, he indicated, has a mass manufacturing plant in China and is committed to ensuring that its irrigation pumps reach nearly every small-scale farmers with low-income in Africa, adding that this year alone, the company has sold 287,435 pumps in the sub-region.
Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ahaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, in a speech read on his behalf, lauded the KickStart International for introducing cost-effective pumps, which do not use fuel or electricity.
According to him, the pumps will help to improve production capacities of farmers and enhance food security in Ghana.
By Melvin Tarlue