July 2010 - a member of Buriang’i Farmers demonstrates how to use the moneymaker pump, which he has borrowed to irrigate his vegetable crops.

Western Province in Kenya has experienced extremely high population growth in recent decades. In 1979 the population of the province was estimated at 1.83 million, but by 2006 this total had climbed to 4.15 million. During this period many left the region in search of work elsewhere, but for those who remained there was a constant reduction of land available for farming. This acute land shortage means that better farming techniques are essential if farmers are going to increase crop production in line with increased population and expectations.

One suitable method is the use of a moneymaker footpump to irrigate crops so they do not suffer the vagaries of the weather. Details of such pumps are available through www.kickstart.org. These pumps are particularly useful during the dry season when nutritious food is scarce when local market prices often triple.

SGG’s plan in 2007 was to supply 20 such pumps for farmer groups around Busia. By 2009 34 such pumps had been provided and field studies among the beneficiaries established that increased income within one year of use was usually well above the cost of the footpump. Moneymaker pumps could provide food security for less than £1/pa/beneficiary, and they helped local Kenyan farmers in their struggle to remove themselves from absolute poverty.