MoneyMaker: Low-cost irrigation pumps

Low-cost irrigation technologies for increasing incomes for smallholder farmers.

MoneyMaker offers a range of irrigation pumps tailored for small plots in sub-Saharan Africa. The MoneyMaker Hip provides water distribution of up to 40 liters per minute for plots up to 1.25 acres. The MoneyMaker Starter, weighing 3.0kg, pumps up to 30 liters per minute for 1-acre plots. For plots up to 2 acres, the MoneyMaker Max, operated by a 70kg operator, delivers up to 1.8 liters per second. These non-motorized pumps are compact, with the MoneyMaker Max at 16kg, the Hip Pump at 4.5kg, and the Starter Pump at 3.0kg. Designed by Kickstart International, the Starter Pump is a cost-effective solution for transitioning from rain-fed farming, offering a maximum flow rate of over 2200 liters per hour for diverse agricultural and domestic water needs.

This technology is validated.

9•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 7/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Much less water used

Problem

Water Scarcity in Small Farms: Small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa struggle with water scarcity, affecting crop irrigation.
Manual Irrigation Challenges: Manual and labor-intensive irrigation methods, like bucket systems, pose efficiency and labor burden issues for small plots.
Financial Barriers to Technology Adoption: Smallholder farmers face financial constraints in adopting modern irrigation technologies, limiting their ability to shift from traditional practices.

Solution

MoneyMaker irrigation pumps offer an efficient and affordable solution to mitigate water scarcity by providing a reliable water source for small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
It replaces manual and labor-intensive irrigation methods, offering a more efficient and sustainable solution to ease the burden on farmers while optimizing the irrigation process.
It provides cost-effective irrigation solutions, such as the Starter Pump, enabling smallholder farmers to transition from traditional methods to more productive and sustainable irrigation practices.

Key points to design your project

Low-cost irrigation pumps provide an efficient solution for delivering water to crops, reducing labor and costs compared to manual methods. To integrate this technology:

Promote awareness through community demonstrations to showcase its benefits.
Provide comprehensive training to operators for maintenance and operation.

Knowing that the pump cost 50-90 USD, considering costs and quantity needed for your project. This technology is adopted in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Engage a team of trainers to provide ongoing support and maintenance assistance to operators after the initial training.

Develop communication materials such as flyers, videos, and radio broadcasts to educate farmers and stakeholders about the benefits and proper use of mechanized threshing technology.

Collaborate with agricultural development institutes and fleet managers to facilitate the adoption and implementation of mechanized threshing technology in your country.

By following these steps, you can effectively integrate low-cost irrigation pumps into your agricultural project, enhancing efficiency and productivity while reducing labor costs.

Cost: $$$ 50—90 USD

Hip & Max Pumps cost

150 %

Farmer increases their farm produce

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Angola	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Burkina Faso	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Mali	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Mozambique	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Senegal	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
South Sudan	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 13: climate action

Operate by creating manuel suction and pressure alternately.
Natural depth limitation of suction-pressure pumps, with an 8.5m suction limit and a similar amount as a pressure head.

Last updated on 21 March 2025