80% of Africa's poor are smallholder farmers, and the vast majority of them rely on seasonal rains to grow their crops. Farmers plant and harvest at the same time, flooding the markets at low prices, and leaving much of their crops to rot before it is eaten or sold. This dependence leaves household incomes and food security vulnerable to long dry seasons and unreliable rainy seasons, trapping many in a cycle of subsistence and poverty.

KickStart designs and promotes climate-smart irrigation technologies, which enable subsistence farmers to make their own rain, significantly increasing yields, incomes, and providing a real path out of poverty.