Prosper on Farms focuses on both small and large-scale irrigation systems.
Somebody once suggested that Prosper on Farms focus on large irrigation systems because that way huge quantities of food can be grown within a short time.
Well, on the surface it looks that way, but in reality, in Africa that is not the way to go.
Let’s just say history recorded that African governments and international donors in the past focused on large-scale irrigation systems and yet still, today Africa is a net importer of food.
If focusing on large-scale irrigation on its own worked, Africa would be a net exporter of food and there would be many African billionaire farmers in the Forbes rich list.
At first Prosper on Farms targeted big farms that were at least 20 hectares, then reduced the entry level to 10 hectares, then to 1 hectare based on farmer demand and new insights.
There are logistical benefits and economies of scale that arise from farming on a large scale, but those economies of scale are not more important than the profits and other socio-economic benefits that arise from smallholder irrigation and small-scale irrigation.
Prosper on Farms also found that in some cases, measured on a cost per hectare basis, it is cheaper to provide irrigation systems to small-scale farmers than to develop large-scale irrigation systems.
This is because there are existing irrigation technologies for small-scale irrigation that are cheaper for small-scale agriculture, on a cost per hectare basis, than large scale irrigation systems.
For example, depending on the technologies used and other factors, just as an example, a small-scale irrigation system for 1 hectare may cost a farmer say US$1000, whereas a centre-pivot irrigation system may cost US$2000 per hectare and this will be for say 20 hectares, which means an initial outlay of US$40 000 for a 20 hectare centre-pivot, is enough to pay for the initial outlay of 40 hectares for smallholder farmers or small-scale farmers (US$1000 x 1 hectare each, then the result into US$40 000).
If you had to choose where to spend your US$40 000 on irrigation, where would you put it?
If you want to minimize logistical problems, you spend it on putting 20 hectares under centre-pivot irrigation.
Prosper on Farms is on a mission to put as much irrigable arable land in Zimbabwe under irrigation and as soon as possible too, at the least cost to farmers, and to benefit as many farmers as possible.
So, what that means is that in such a situation, Prosper on Farms will put 40 x 1 hectare plots under irrigation than just 1 x 20 hectare plot under irrigation. In this case many farmers benefit, more food is produced by the small-scale farmers, on even more land and at a lower cost per hectare, and many farmers are lifted out of poverty. The farmers will then afford to farm all year and to pay school fees for their children, eating a balanced and healthy diet every day.
In fact, if you have 40 farmers who now have irrigation, some of them will invest their profits into extending their own irrigation systems, which means we won’t have to do raise funds to do it for them, and we can use our limited resources to give other farmers irrigation systems.
Now, why would Prosper on Farms want to exclusively focus on large-scale irrigation systems?
A Zimbabwean pioneer centre-pivot irrigation system manufacturer-entrepreneur was on a Zimbabwean TV programme that was uploaded to YouTube, where he said some farmers in Zimbabwe phone his company saying the centre-pivot is now dead when the farmer will simply not be fully versed in operating the centre-pivot irrigation system.
How hard is it to learn how to operate a portable pump or a drip system for 1 acre or 1 hectare compared to a centre-pivot control panel?
The other thing is that by having many small-scale plots under irrigation, you spread the risk among a lot of farmers. From a national food security point of view, this is the best way to go. Lately there have been uncontrolled veld fires in Zimbabwe. 40 x 1 hectare sparsely located plots are a safer bet in the event of a fire than putting all food production on 1 large 20 hectare farm.
If you know Uber, let’s just say if 1 Uber ride fails, the whole of Uber will not go down with it.
In the rural areas, providing the small-scale farmers with irrigation actually creates more jobs than one large farm creates. There are very few permanent workers on large farms. Prosper on Farms also wants to create as many business opportunities and job opportunities for farmers at the least cost. So, while an irrigation system will be cheaper on a small-scale plot than on a large farm on a per hectare basis, more jobs will also be created on a small-scale plot on a per hectare basis.
And also because this is Zimbabwe we are talking about, there are always greedy, connected and corrupt people who want to take the big things, big farms, big harvests, big farm equipment, big irrigation systems, big tenders, big projects, big everything. How many big whigs have you ever seen fighting for tiny little things or taking small things or stealing small things? It always has to be epic!