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There is no deadline. Applications are accepted every minute every day.

Prosper on Farms DOES NOT make any promises that you will be paid in foreign currency. Expect that you will be paid in ZIMBABWEAN CURRENCY until such time that Zimbabwe has abolished its local currency.

If you are more interested in being paid in foreign currency than having an irrigation system that you cannot afford without Prosper on Farms, DO NOT apply and DO NOT do business with us.

Prosper on Farms prioritizes recovering its costs of providing farmers in Zimbabwe with irrigation systems, and the long-term viability of what it is doing so that as many farmers as possible in Zimbabwe can have access to irrigation. Most irrigation systems are imported, and this includes borehole parts, which means Prosper on Farms uses foreign currency to provide even the smallest irrigation system. Some local companies also charge Prosper on Farms in foreign currency for installing irrigation systems. Prosper on Farms can’t spend foreign currency to give farmers in Zimbabwe irrigation systems, and then recover its costs in local currency, and then fail to provide another farmer with an irrigation system when irrigation system installers say they want to be paid for in foreign currency.

Some of our partner contract farming companies may be able to pay you in foreign currency, while some only pay in local currency, some may do both, but our policy remains that Prosper on Farms does not make promises to pay in foreign currency or that you will be paid in foreign currency.

It also depends on what you are producing. Flowers for export may be sold in foreign currency, on the other hand maize is required by law to be sold to GMB which does not pay in foreign currency in full and not always on time. Tobacco farmers, for example, are mostly paid in foreign currency by the auction floors.

Once you have irrigation and your agreement with us has ended, we will have done our part. You can then find contract farming companies or buyers who can pay for your crops in foreign currency.

If you have a contract farming company or reputable buyer who is registered with Agricultural Marketing Authority who you know pays in foreign currency, we can enter into an agreement with that contract farming company or buyer, give you the irrigation system, and they will pay you in foreign currency. The same applies if you have a company that pays the highest prices in Zimbabwean currency. We can enter into an agreement with them, give you the irrigation system, and they can pay you those prices that will be higher than even Prosper on Farms can afford to pay you. However, Prosper on Farms will not enter into illegal agreements.

If your most pressing need as a farmer is payment in foreign currency and NOT having an irrigation system, please DO NOT apply.

Yes! The same way that a company gives an employee a company car for free after 5 years working for the company is the same way we give farmers who meet our production targets OWNERSHIP of the irrigation system we put on their farms within 1 to 5 years. Terms and Conditions and/or variations may apply.

We don’t know.

While the policy of Prosper on Farms is not to promise farmers delivery dates for installing irrigation systems on their farms, Prosper on Farms actually does not know when you will have an irrigation system installed.

Prosper on Farms is not rich. Prosper on Farms does not have millions of US dollars or billions of US dollars.

That is why Prosper on Farms states that those who apply go on a waiting list. We don’t have irrigation systems in a warehouse somewhere just waiting for you to apply.

Even city councils take applications for housing stands and they just put you on the housing stands waiting list, so that when housing stands become available they will contact you and then you go and pay the money for a housing stand. Thankfully, Prosper on Farms does not accept money from farmers for irrigation systems. Like land in the case of city councils, which may not be available and will have to be made available for housing stands to be created, the money to put irrigation systems on your farms may or may not come or become available. That means, just like city councils that cannot give you an answer about when you will have a housing stand, Prosper on Farms cannot give you a definite time or date or deadline when you will have an irrigation system installed, but it is good to already be on the waiting list when the housing stands or irrigation systems become available. Even when the money for irrigation systems is available, sometimes it may not make sense to give someone an irrigation system because of the cost for example. The farm may not even be accessible by any means to enable transporting the crop to the market for example. There are a lot of considerations that will have to be made prior to installing an irrigation system. So, it is not possible to just say you will definitely have an irrigation system, and by such and such a time.

Because Prosper on Farms is not rich and does not have billions of US dollars, please:

• Apply only because you have hope and faith that one day Prosper on Farms will get to a stage where it can give you an irrigation system.
• Apply if you actually have a farm or arable land (at least 1 hectare) and you want to support Prosper on Farms by making your farm available to have an irrigation system.
• Apply if you want an irrigation system, and you have the farm, and you feel that you have nothing to lose by applying since there are no penalties and no money is required.
• Apply if you want an irrigation system, and you have the farm, and you don’t care whether you get an irrigation system or not.
• Apply if you don’t want to regret not having applied, when you start to see other farmers getting irrigation systems installed, when by that time the waiting list will be so long you will be waiting maybe for more than 10 years, just like on housing stands waiting lists of city councils.

Jesus told a story once, The Parable of the Maidens. You know the story. Those maidens who applied for irrigation systems when Prosper on Farms did not yet have the money got irrigation systems when the money became available, and those maidens who did not apply when Prosper on Farms did not have money did not get irrigation systems installed when Prosper on Farms now had the money.

Prosper on Farms is not the Government of Zimbabwe which is rich beyond measure, which can even splash US$1 billion each on RBZ Farm Mechanization or Command Agriculture. Neither is Prosper on Farms a branch of the United Nations like FAO and World Food Programme that have billions of US dollars at their disposal. Prosper on Farms is not a rich global NGO like WorldVision or Care. Prosper on Farms is also not an arm of any government like USAid. Prosper on Farms is not a billion dollar organization. How many billion dollar companies does Zimbabwe, Africa even, have?

Prosper on Farms is like a cross-border trader who asks people in her village what they want from South Africa, gets orders, get loans, goes to South Africa and brings the orders of her customers, and gets paid with buckets of maize. It is as simple as that, really.

Right now Prosper on Farms has nothing, but a dream, faith, hope, and a vision, and is prepared to try. If we have farmers like you who want an irrigation system, who collectively have 21 000 hectares or more that can be put under irrigated production, then raising the funds from investors to put irrigation on all 21 000 hectares should not be a problem because you will have “ordered” an irrigation system although you will not pay any money for it. Your production is what we want.

Prosper on Farms is telling you this so that you manage your expectations and so that don’t have too high expectations of us. It is also so that you do not constantly ask us when you will have an irrigation system installed. When you apply you enter your details, and Prosper on Farms will contact you when it is your turn to have an irrigation system.

PROSPER ON FARMS DOES NOT ACCEPT BRIBES, EVEN TO JUMP THE QUEUE! PROSPER ON FARMS WILL BLACKLIST YOU AND YOUR FARM FOR 50 YEARS AND REPORT YOU TO THE POLICE FOR ATTEMPTING TO BRIBE. APPLY DIRECTLY ON THIS WEBSITE TO PUT YOUR FARM ON THE WAITING LIST! IT IS FREE, SIMPLE, AND EASY! YOU COULD LOSE EVERYTHING, INCLUDING YOUR FREEDOM, BY ATTEMPTING TO BRIBE.

The least that you get is a contract farming agreement under our approved contract farming partner companies that provides you with standard farming inputs, and then Prosper on Farms provides you with an irrigation system as part of the package if you don’t already have an irrigation system. That is what is there across all packages, from 1 up to over 100 hectares. In some cases Prosper on Farms may rehabilitate the existing irrigation system rather than put a new irrigation system.

What we negotiate with the farmers are the types of crop, crop production targets, and length or time frame of the contract. If you meet the production targets agreed with you and within the time frame agreed with you, the OWNERSHIP of the irrigation system will be transferred to you, free of charge.

Basically it is a standard contract farming agreement, except that in addition, Prosper on Farms gives you an irrigation system so that you have higher chances of success, come rain or sunshine, and you have the chance to own the irrigation system without paying any money.

If the reason you failed to meet production targets was beyond your control, e.g. floods, Prosper on Farms will let you try again and can even extend the contract to give you more time.

If the reason you failed to meet production targets was within your control, preventable, avoidable, and your fault, Prosper on Farms will remove the irrigation system and give it to a more productive farmer.

Our style is similar to that of the Master as told in Jesus’ Parable of the Talents. Those farmers who are productive will be given more, and those farmers who are unproductive, even that which Prosper on Farms had given them to succeed in farming will be taken away from them.

However, before Prosper on Farms removes the irrigation system, you will be given a second chance and other options.

You must bear in mind that each time that you fail to meet production targets, or if you are unproductive, Prosper on Farms and its approved partner contract farming companies will be losing money. That means there cannot be third chances or a third time to fail again.

If you fail to achieve production targets for the second time, before Prosper on Farms removes the irrigation system, Prosper on Farms will give you the option to let another farmer it has worked with who is more productive farm your land, rent-free. You will then be put on paid on-the-job training on your farm under that farmer. If that farmer meets the targets you failed to meet or achieves your shortfall or closes the gap, the OWNERSHIP of the irrigation system on your farm will then be transferred to you. At the end of that contract, you will have got training and experience working under that farmer and you will now be a much better and improved farmer, who also now owns the irrigation system,.

If you do not like that approach, Prosper on Farms will remove its irrigation system than let even one more Zimbabwean go hungry just because you want to be unproductive or sort of productive while sitting on our irrigation system.

NO, Prosper on Farms is not better than a bank loan, or maybe it depends on what you want to achieve, and what you see as better, a bank’s loan terms and conditions or Prosper on Farms’ terms and conditions.

A bank, for example, may give you say a US$10 000 irrigation loan at 10% per annum interest payable within 12 months. You must provide security (collateral) in the form of title deeds, provide a deposit of 20%, which is about US$2000. The value of the collateral you provide must be worth more than the loan principal and interest by a wide margin. If you do not have all these things, the bank will not give you a loan. If you have all those things, the bank will give you a loan. In total, you pay back US$11 000, including interest.

Now, how many farmers have all those things?

Most farmers in Zimbabwe live on unproductive farms and on less than US$2 a day, which is less than US$1000 a year because they do not have all those things to be able to qualify for bank loans. No bank is going to lend them US$10 000. No sane bank is going to give a US$10 000 loan payable within 12 months or even over 3 years to a farmer whose annual income is less than US$1000 a year.

On the other hand, Prosper on Farms will provide you with the irrigation system. An approved contract farming company will provide you with the inputs, because you will now have an irrigation system.

Whereas a bank loan would have cost you US$11 000 if you had the resources, Prosper on Farms must recover something like US$15 000 for providing you with irrigation. This money will be recovered from the approved partner contract farming company that you will be contracted to.

You do not pay any money, just produce and meet the agreed production targets and the irrigation system will be yours.

Prosper on Farms does not give loans of any kind to farmers, and it costs more than a loan, but in the end if you are a productive farmers you will own the irrigation system without paying any money for it.

Unlike banks that only want their money back with interest, Prosper on Farms is heavily invested and focused on farmers increasing agricultural production. 90% of Zimbabwe’s food production is rain-fed. That means even contract farming companies are losing a lot of money every year to droughts due to lack of irrigation with many farmers going even deeper into debt in the process. Prosper on Farms is putting all that to an end.

The average national maize yield per tonne is 1 tonne per hectare. With irrigation it can go as high as 5 tonnes or more per hectare, and with good agricultural practices, a farmer can even achieve 8 to 15 tonnes per hectare. When a farmer fails to harvest anything due to lack of rains and lack of irrigation, the contract farming company may have lost as much as 8 tonnes per hectare and the farmer may be owing as much as over US$2000 per hectare.

When Prosper on Farms provides a farmer with an irrigation system, the contract farming company may get say 5 tonnes of maize per hectare from the farmer, instead of 1 tonne, which makes the contract farming company more profitable.

At the same time, the farmer earns a lot more money than ever before thanks to irrigation, 5 times more than the national average from higher crop yield under irrigation, which means the farmer gets richer. That is how the approved partner contract farming company makes enough money to pay Prosper on Farms for the irrigation system while you also earn more money.

The approved contract farming company will provide you with inputs and other needs.

Some farmers may not meet targets, which is a risk Prosper on Farms may encounter, but this is minimised by heavy on the ground monitoring, evaluation, and implementation unlike what banks can do, which adds to Prosper on Farms’ costs of doing business with the farmer, and Prosper on Farms also has to make a profit and preserve its capital so that it can help more farmers. That is why Prosper on Farms costs more than a bank loan.

Unlike a bank, Prosper on Farms wants agricultural production output and not money from farmers. A bank will not care if you produce anything, so long as you repay the loan, even with money from somewhere else.

Prosper on Farms on the other hand wants a farmer to actually produce the crop, and Prosper on Farms will not accept cash payments for an irrigation system that it has already put on a farm.

Prosper on Farms is not better than a loan to a farmer, but all things being equal, it is more accessible than a loan. Honestly, whether it is better is up to you, your desires, and your situation.

No. Prosper on Farms is NOT cheaper than a bank loan.

A bank only gives you a loan and wants its money back.

Prosper on Farms on the other hand goes the extra 500 miles to help make sure that your crop does not die due to lack of irrigation, or rot due to lack of a market or storage, or get rejected by the buyer or destroyed by the Ministry of Health because it fails to meet food safety and heath standards. Through Prosper on Farms’ approved partners, you also get technical support such as agronomic advice and inputs support. All these things have costs.

A bank only gives you a loan, money, and you have to pay it back with interest. If you fail to pay the money back because your buyer is no longer in business or ran away, you risk losing your assets that you pledged as collateral.

Yes, absolutely! When the Ukraine War started, many foreign donors cut their budgets in Africa and diverted their monies and attention to Ukraine.

The majority of farmers in Zimbabwe live on less than US$2 a day and they mostly survive on food aid and food donations. Farmers! Imagine! Farmers!!! Farmers surviving on food aid. They should be producing the food locally and make a living and feed themselves from their land instead of living on handouts and donations. Food aid does not pay for electricity, medicine, school fees, and other household needs, but income from farm production can. There are no donors for everything you need.

Prosper on Farms is not a donor and encourages independence, food self-sufficiency,and self-reliance instead of dependence on donors.

Prosper on Farms is NOT looking at the size of the farm, but the size of your ARABLE land. You must have at least 1 hectare of arable land. There is no upper limit. 1 hectare is the same size as a soccer field.

Serious, hardworking, fulltime farmers.

The applicant must be at least 18 years old, the legal occupier or owner of the farm, and must have the legal documentation that proves that he or she is the rightful occupier of that land. Those are the farmers Prosper on Farms enters into agreements with. Whoelse they work with is their business.

We do check government records to verify applications. Prosper on Farms does not sign agreements with renters or people who are renting a farm from someone else who is not the State. Prosper on Farms only works with the people whose names are on the legal government documents.

All our agreements for irrigation development are with the actual landowners, even if the actual farmer will be a different person.

PROSPER ON FARMS DOES NOT WORK WITH FARMS THAT ARE LEASED FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS. THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER IS THE ONE WHO PROSPER ON FARMS CAN ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR IRRIGATION WITH.

Otherwise Prosper on Farms works with all other kinds of farms from those farms with title deeds and 99 year leases on State land, to irrigation schemes and farms with offer letters or title deeds.

Your farm must have some sort of legal documentation or papers, and it must have at least 1 arable hectare that can be put under irrigated crop production.

If the farm does not have legal papers, Prosper on Farms will want to know why. In some cases, we may require a letter from your Chief or Ministry of Lands/Agriculture confirming that you are the rightful occupier of that land.

Prosper on Farms also works with livestock farms that want irrigation.

All our agreements for irrigation development are with the actual landowners, even if the actual farmer will be a different person

All kinds. It all depends on what the farmer wants to grow. Our philosophy is that farmers will be more enthusiastic about what they themselves want to grow. We can only advise farmers on markets and suitability of the crops based on soil analysis and other factors.

We only require that the farmer grow at least one grain in a year in crop rotation for national food security reasons. For maize, at least 1 tonne of your maize production will be reserved for your own household consumption.

Our farming agreements do not support GMOs and never will.

Prosper on Farms provides all kinds of irrigation systems, from a simple pump that pumps water from a river to the field though pipes to large-scale centre pivot irrigation systems and lateral move irrigation systems. It all depends on the irrigation system that our engineers deem appropriate for your farm, and sometimes even for neighbouring farms if it makes business sense to also connect them to the irrigation system and they also want irrigation.

Prosper on Farms is targeting to put 200 000 hectares under irrigation by 2032. Using an average of 1 hectare and 100 hectares, it means between 10 000 and 200 000 farmers could have an irrigation system.

You do not have to know anyone inside. There is no need for corruption. There are no offices to go pay bribes to.

If you are looking for a situation where you definitely get an irrigation system even before your farm has been assessed, then you are obviously not a perfect fit for us and you are not the kind of farmer we want to do business with. Prosper on Farms has a strong policy against corruption.

Even a bank does not guarantee that it will give you a loan.

If you are already a contract farmer for another business but you still want to have irrigation through Prosper on Farms, we can arrange that with the business that contracted you. The agreement for irrigation will be between you, the business that contracted you, and Prosper on Farms.

Yes. Prosper on Farms will do an assessment of your capacity to actually farm using your own funds. If the results of the assessment suggest that you are capable and you actually have the resources except for irrigation, Prosper on Farms will install the irrigation system and recover the cost of the irrigation system on terms agreed on between you and Prosper on Farms.

However, Prosper on Farms only works with farmers who will deliver or sell the product to approved partner contract farming companies. You will have to sell the crop to our approved partner contract farming companies. Once you have delivered or sold to them the specified total crop production as agreed, the OWNERSHIP of the irrigation system can then be transferred to you free of charge.

Generally, Prosper on Farms uses a contract farming method because it makes it easier to manage farmers’ production. We have standards. It would be pointless to give you an irrigation system and then you fall short in other areas leading to a poor harvest to the extent that we cannot recover our costs.

Prosper on Farms is supporting farmers with irrigation systems so that farmer incomes increase, the capital of contract farming companies is not lost to drought or poor rains, and to resuscitate the agroprocessing industry in Zimbabwe.

The approved contract farming companies need the agricultural production output from farmers to make various products in their factories such as peanut butter, mealie meal, soya chunks, vegetable oil, livestock feed, canned beans, and more. By connecting farmers to buyers and contract farming companies, Prosper on Farms can lift farmers out of poverty, improve capacity utilization in industry, create jobs, and even save the country foreign currency. Agroprocessing factories have minimum quality standards specifications for the crop production they will accept. Your crop will have to meet those quality specifications and the best way to do that is for you to work with the contract farming company throughout every stage of your farming even if you are using your own funds. For example, crops that are heavily contaminated with pesticides will be rejected by the factory and destroyed in your presence by order of the Ministry of Health.

Prosper on Farms DOES NOT give loans and DOES NOT sell irrigation systems. Prosper on Farms is also NOT a donor.

What that means is that Prosper on Farms will NOT accept an arrangement where Prosper on Farms installs the irrigation system and then the farmer pays for it with money, even in cash or installments. Prosper on Farms is NOT a bank or a credit facility. Prosper on Farms wants agricultural production output from farmers, NOT the money. Zimbabweans don’t eat money.

If you are a first time farmer, or if you do not have proof that is acceptable to us that you are an experienced commercial farmer at such a large scale, you start small, with us, in our system. Then we gradually increase the size of your contract and size of your irrigation system from 1 hectare to 100 hectares. Except for situations where a farmer has proof of prior commercial farming experience at that scale and other resources to succeed at that scale of farming, or has the backing of one of our approved partners, the farmer will start small. We then see how well the farmer does on a small scale, and gradually increase the size of the farmer’s contract and irrigation system, based on the farmer’s performance.

That is how we do it. If you want a longer and more detailed version of what you just read, then keep reading, otherwise that is how Prosper on Farms works.

You start on our STARTER contract farming package which covers up to 1 hectare and then we see how you do.

If you meet our Starter contract farming production targets within the time frame of our contract, at the end of the contract farming agreement we will transfer the OWNERSHIP of our irrigation system that you were using, to you. When our contract farming agreement with you has ended and we have transferred the OWNERSHIP of the Starter irrigation system to you, it will be up to you to continue working with us, or to stop working with us and start doing your own thing now as an independent farmer with the irrigation system you now own. Whatever the case, you will now be eligible for our MEDIUM contract farming agreement which is for up to 10 hectares, and that provides you with an irrigation system for up to 10 hectares. It is 10 times bigger than the Starter contract farming package.

If you decide to get our Medium contract farming package and then you meet our production targets of the Medium contract farming agreement within the time frame of our contract, we will transfer the OWNERSHIP of that Medium contract farming irrigation system that you were using, to you.

When our contract farming agreement with you has ended and we have transferred the OWNERSHIP of the Medium irrigation system to you, it will be up to you to continue working with us or to stop working with us and start doing your own thing with the irrigation system you now own. You also then become eligible for our LARGE contract farming agreement which is for up to 100 hectares and provides you with irrigation for up to 100 hectares. It is 10 times bigger than the Medium contract farming package.

If you decide to get our LARGE contract farming package and then you meet our production targets for the LARGE contract farming package within the time frame of our contract farming agreement, we will transfer the OWNERSHIP of that LARGE contract farming irrigation system that you were using, to you. You will also have the option to renew your contract with us or to start farming on your own without us or to put another arable part of your farm, up to 100 hectares at a time, under LARGE contract farming with us so that you can then own the irrigation system for that additional 100 hectares of land.

As you can see, if you are productive and you go through all the stages, you could end up with 3 irrigation systems that can cover 111 hectares within 3 to 5 years.

If your farm has 250 hectares of irrigable arable land for example, once you have gone through our LARGE contract farming package for the first time and performed well, you can enter into another LARGE contract farming agreement to put another 100 hectares under irrigation. If you perform well, you will then own that 100 hectare irrigation system. That will then leave you with 250 – (111+100) hectares = 39 hectares that you can put under LARGE contract farming package to complete 250 hectares under irrigation.

This is the best way we can do it. In all this, you will not take a bank loan to have an irrigation system. No collateral or deposit is required. No payment from you is also required.

The same way a company gives an employee a company car for free after 5 years working for the company is the same way we give our farmers who meet our production targets OWNERSHIP of irrigation systems we put on their farms.

However, if you have proof that you have been farming 100 hectares for years, we can put you on our LARGE contract farming package. If you have acceptable proof that you have been farming at the scale that you need irrigation for, we may put you in the package appropriate for that scale. It will be at our discretion, otherwise everyone starts small. Never despise the days of humble beginnings.

If you do not meet our production targets for each package, we can give you one more chance. If you fail the second time, and if the reason you failed is your fault, we remove our irrigation system and give it to a more productive farmer. In some cases even if the reason you failed was not your fault but was preventable had you taken steps to prevent it, we cancel the contract and direct our assets and resources to more serious and productive farmers than continue making losses. If you had got a borehole, we remove it. You have to be serious.

No. It is not a joint venture. It is a simple commercial agreement that is also giving you an opportunity to own an irrigation system without paying any money.

1 year is for the ideal or perfect farm where the water is right on the farm and say Prosper on Farms can immediately install a centre pivot and then planting is immediately done. The other farmer could also need just a pump, even for smaller land for example.

1 year applies to a farm that has already prepared land that does not need bringing bulldozers to clear the land, lay kilometres of pipes to convey water, etc. Just bringing a bulldozer to your farm costs money that is not part of a centre pivot. So, some farms require a lot of investment above the cost of just putting a centre pivot, and this means Prosper on Farms will need more time to recover that money. Prior to our agreement, we will tell you how much time we need to recover the cost of the irrigation system and make a profit to be willing to invest on your farm so that you can decide whether to take it or leave it. In your case, it was 3 years.

The other major influencing factor is the size of the land that will be covered by our irrigation system. Believe it or not, it is possible to recover the cost of installing a 500 hectare centre pivot in one year or in a shorter time than to recover the cost of a centre pivot for just 10 hectares or even less.

Also, the cost of a centre pivot for 1 hectare is almost the same as the cost for a 10 hectare centre pivot. However, on 10 hectares, you grow 10 times more crops than on 1 hectare, which means you earn 10 times more, which means if you have 10 hectares, Prosper on Farms can recover the cost of the centre pivot irrigation system 10 or more times quicker than someone on 1 hectare.

Let’s do some calculations together, for 1 hectare and for 10 hectares, to show you something.

Let’s say you grow a crop that you can call whatever you like. Let’s say the profit per hectare is US$100 per hectare. As any farmer knows, costs per unit fall and the profit per hectare increases as the size of the land grows. Let’s use Jill and Jane as our farmers.

Jill: 1 hectare profit = US$100 a year
Jane: 10 hectares profit = US$100 x 10 hectares = US$1000 a year

Over the next 3 years, Jill will make US$100 x 3 = US$300 in profit, whereas Jane will make US$1000 x 3 = US$3000.

As you can see, over 3 years, Jane’s cumulative total profits (US$3000), although still 10 times those of Jills (US$300), they will be massively more in terms of total dollar values, US$2700 more than Jill’s, yet in the first year the difference in their profits was just US$900 (US$1000 – US$100). The difference keeps growing with time. When Jill gets to US$10 000 in profits, Jane will be at US$100 000, still 10 times more, but the difference will be US$90 000.

In short, it would take Jill 20 years to pay for a US$2000 centre pivot (US$2000 divided by US$100), whereas it would take Jane just 2 years ([US$1000 multiplied by 2 years] then divided by US$1000) to pay for a US$2000 centre pivot.

That is how Prosper on Farms ends up needing 20 years on Jill’s farm to recover the cost of the centre pivot and just 2 years on Jane’s farm.

In practice, Prosper on Farms does not want to be on a farm for more than 5 years.

So, in Jill’s case, Prosper on Farms will not invest because 20 years is 15 years more than 5 years.

In Jill case, the cost of the centre pivot irrigation system will be recovered after 2 years. This only covers costs and Prosper on Farms will not have made a profit at the end of 2 years. So, during the negotiations, and before signing the agreement, Proper on Farms and the farmer will discuss on the number of years, between 3 and 5 years, for Prosper on Farms to make its profit.

Prosper on Farms is not a donor but an investor. Farmers like Jane compete for Prosper on Farm’s irrigation systems and the farmers who give Prosper on Farms the best profits win. After all, Prosper on Farms will be giving the farmer the OWNERSHIP of a commercial-scale irrigation system for free at the end of the agreement.

Some farms are very far from the water source and need kilometres of pipes to be laid down. Some farms do not even have tractors or any implement of productive use besides a hoe. Each farm has its own needs, which means all farms are at different levels of readiness for investment. Some farms only need a centre pivot and the farmer could do everything else. Some farms have all kinds of equipment, except for a centre pivot irrigation system. So, it is not very useful comparing your farm to others. 1 year is the minimum.

Before signing an agreement, if Prosper on Farms cannot realistically make a profit in 1 year to cover costs of the irrigation system and production, Prosper on Farms will either ask a farmer to add one more year or a few more years to allow Prosper on Farms to make a profit, or Prosper on Farms will not invest. If a farmer does not want Prosper on Farms to make a profit and only wants a centre pivot irrigation system, Prosper on Farms will not invest.

Banks throughout the world, in USA, Canada, Australia, and South Africa give farmers about 3 years to repay a loan for a large-scale centre pivot irrigation system. They also give those loans for irrigation systems on presentation of collateral worth at least 1.5 times the value of the irrigation system, and they charge interest. Use those details as a guide.

Prosper on Farms DOES NOT accept money from farmers for irrigation systems it puts on their farms. Prosper on Farms only wants agricultural production output.

So yes, there is a way for you to get to own the irrigation system as soon as possible. How?

Simply meet the production targets of your contract farming agreement as soon as possible.

For instance, let’s say your contract farming agreement is for the production of 100 tonnes of maize each year for 3 years. That means the entire contract is for 300 tonnes. If you hit the production target of 300 tonnes within 1 year, the OWNERSHIP of the irrigation system will be transferred to you within 1 year. Since the contract was for 3 years, but you have achieved the 100 tonnes production target sooner, the ownership of the irrigation system will be transferred to you, but you continue farming for the remainder of the years, 2 years, until the contract comes to an end.

The moment you meet the production targets required to own the irrigation system, even if it is before your contract has ended, the ownership of the irrigation system will be transferred to you and you automatically become eligible for a bigger contract farming agreement that offers a much bigger irrigation system of up to 100 hectares.

Some farmers who are productive are willing to make sacrifices to get to own the irrigation system as soon as possible by being as productive as possible.

Once a farmer owns an irrigation system, it opens up vast opportunities fro them. Even banks will then want to give the farmer loans.

The minimum is 1 year and the maximum is 5 years, except in very very special circumstances. We discuss the years of the contract agreement before signing the agreement.

The time or number of years is determined not by your skills, but by the cost of the irrigation system and speed and volume of recovery of the cost of investment and your production. If you are very productive and you exceed our production targets, you could own the irrigation system within 1 season even. You could even get to own the irrigation system before the contract has ended.

• Farmers do not go into debt and they do not take the risks that Prosper on Farms takes in their place, such as getting loans, surrendering collateral, raising capital, and hiring labour, among other risks.
• Farmers will be food secure.
• Farmers are realistically lifted out of poverty. Aid organizations make noise on Twitter about increasing farming household incomes by US$100 over 6 months. Prosper on Farms can do even better than that.
• Prosper on Farms can help farmers clear their debts with contract farming companies, power utilities, and water utilities.
• Farmers will have irrigation infrastructure that they will own at the end of our agreement.
• Farmers can continue subsistence farming during the time of transitioning to large-scale irrigated commercial farming.
• Farmers or their appointed person are trained on the job over several years, which will reduce their chances of failing as farmers when they take over from us.
• At the end of our agreement, farmers should have assets that can be used as collateral to access loans, collateral they never had before. Farmers will also be able to harvest something to be able to settle their debts and escape poverty even when rains are poor or unevenly distributed.
• With irrigation, large-scale farmers will be able to generate as much as over US$100 000 a year.
• The existence of irrigation infrastructure means that the farmer can charge higher rentals to those who want to rent the farm when Prosper on Farms has left the farm and handed over the irrigation system.
• Irrigation systems reduce the risk of crop failure due to drought. Banks also want to lend to less risky farmers. This means our irrigation system that we handover to the farmer will open up access to finance from banks to the farmer who previously did not have such capacity. For example, with a centre pivot irrigation system worth US$150 000, a farmer could easily secure a US$40 000 loan to grow crops or even buy machinery, because banks want collateral that is worth at least 3 times the value of the loan.
• Farmers will also have a traceable farming track record, which is a requirement for most contract farming companies to provide a farmer with inputs and work with a farmer. Banks also want to lend money to experienced large-scale farmers instead of inexperienced first-time farmers. Prosper on Farms puts farmers on paid on-the-job training during the term of the agreement so that by the time Prosper on Farms leaves the farm, the farmer is knowledgeable and prepared to continue farming without Prosper on Farms.
• By the time Prosper on Farms leaves the farm and handsover the irrigation system, contract farming companies, banks, and other supply chain actors will have knowledge of the farm and experience doing business with the farm. They can therefore easily continue working with the farm than start a new relationship.

There is no minimum investment or maximum size of investment.

Simply put, a farm must be able to generate enough money within the duration of our agreement to pay for the size of investment Prosper on Farms makes on it. The size of investment is based on the farm’s needs, risks, and production potential. Some farms need repairs to existing irrigation system of say US$500. We help them fix that and get into production. Some farms need US$150 000 investment for a completely brand new irrigation system.

Absolutely! Yes, we can work with you!

The majority of farmers in Zimbabwe only have offers letters.

Prosper on Farms will do background checks to see if you are truly the person who is supposed to be occupying that farm.

No, but sort of. You must be 18 years old or older.

If you are going to reach retirement age within, the timeframe of the agreement, you must have a succession plan. We will want to know who will take over from you the moment you reach retirement age. You must have a plan for that. There should be a smooth transition.

If you are already in retirement, we will ask you to find someone to undergo paid on-the-job training on your farm, hopefully a youth.

Prosper on Farms may also pay you something for sustenance, until such time that operations on your farm are now generating income. It will not be a donation, it will be recovered from operations on your farm.

The earliest that someone in Zimbabwe who applied after 1 September 2022 may get a centre pivot irrigation system is after the 2023 elections. For other types of irrigation systems such as drip and sprinklers, it could be earlier.

In a perfect situation, it will take about 4 weeks from the time you apply, to the commissioning of a 50 hectare irrigation system on your farm. For a borehole, it could be within 3 days if a survey had already been done and permits secured.

However, because perfect situations are rare, it depends on a lot of things such as:

how much work on other farms is currently in progress
availability of funds
distance to your farm
where you are in the queue or waiting list
the time it takes to get approvals and permits to make developments on your farm
the size and type of infrastructure investment we have to make to bring water to your farm
the condition of supporting infrastructure to your farm such as roads to transport the harvest etc.
how well the recovery of our investment in irrigation systems on other farms is going
the number of farmers in your district or area or close to your farm or surrounding farms who also want irrigation. The more farms around you that want irrigation the better your chances. It will be easier and less expensive to serve a group of farms than to serve an individual farm in a whole district, so tell surrounding farms to apply
how many applications are ahead of yours
…. technical reasons really.
Large scale irrigation systems are expensive, so please, be patient.

If Prosper on Farms is slow, you can always be pursuing other avenues. Or you can just apply and if you get an irrigation system from elsewhere before we have reached you, you can take it and cancel your application.

Absolutely! Yes we can! But that should not happen!

By design of our agreement, at the end of our agreement, you should have the money to fund your farming activities without us. Otherwise what would be the point of giving you an irrigation system if you cannot afford to continue farming after we have left?

Also, during the time of the agreement, you will have a contract farming agreement with an approved partner contract farming company that you can choose to continue working with after our agreement has ended

Prosper on Farms’ goal is not to just put irrigation systems on farms and then disappear.

You can also renew your package or downgrade or upgrade. You can also choose to have us maintain your irrigation system once you now own it.

Prosper on Farms will still be available to do business with you after the end of the agreement. Prosper on Farms may be able to help you even with other things.

The goal is to make sure Zimbabwe is food-secure and self-sufficient in food, and in the long-term.

We can achieve that if you are able to continue farming on your own, with irrigation.

So, Prosper on Farms has a vested interest in your success.

Once you have the commercial-scale irrigation system, it will open up vast opportunities for you to even access loans and finance. You can even go into joint ventures with an upper hand because your farm will have irrigation.

You will have a strong negotiating base when discussing with potential farming partners because you will be having the means to irrigate the crops.

Yes. Absolutely!

Prosper on Farms will only work with an already existing irrigation scheme if there is evidence and proof that the irrigation scheme will meet our production targets.

No you don’t. We reserve about 1 to 2 tonnes of grain for your own household consumption. This should cover your grain needs for a family of 5 for 1 to 2 years. Once irrigation is there, you will have water for a vegetable garden for household consumption or subsistence farming, but the main use of the irrigation system during the time frame of our agreement will be for commercial use.

Yes! Absolutely! Prosper on Farms will need to know the full details of your debts and situation.

Prosper on Farms will then work with you and the contract farming company to help you clear your debt. Surely we can all come to an arrangement that is fair and for the good of everyone.

Prosper on Farms is pro-farmer and wants to keep farmers debt-free. This is clear in Prosper on Farms’ business model.

Yes, Prosper on Farms can work with you. We have a special way of doing it.

However, recovering our cost of investment comes first.

For a borehole or centre pivot irrigation system, no, it won’t, because Prosper on Farms will be maintaining it during the term of our contract farming agreement.

A centre pivot or lateral move can last for 25 years or more with proper maintenance, yet our agreement with you will be for a minimum of 1 year and not more than 5 years.

You can read more about the durability of centre pivot irrigation systems from the sources provided below:

Agrico centre pivot still faithfully serves farmer after 20 years
Reinke centre pivot remains reliable after almost 40 years
40-year-old Zimmatic centre pivot still going strong

For drip tape for small farms, we can give you a new drip kit when we leave. In that case, you must make your request known to use long before signing the agreement so that we take it into account in our cost calculations and we include it in the contract farming agreement. Depending on the type of drip tape, some drip tapes last for as long as 5 years whereas your contract may be for 1 year. The quality, type, and maintenance of the drip irrigation system is key. Otherwise if the drip irrigation system is borehole supplied, the borehole infrastructure itself can last for many years with proper maintenance.

NO. PROSPER SEEKS TO PROVIDE IRRIGATION FOR ALL KINDS OF FARMING. JUST HAVE 1 HECTARES OR MORE, AND TIME.

Prosper has 2 main goals:

(1) to increase farmland under irrigation, and

(2) to make Zimbabwe self-sufficient in grains or cereals.

Your dip tank needs water. Livestock also need water. Livestock can die during a drought causing tremendous loss. With irrigation you can grow grass/hay/crops for feeding your livestock. If a drought hits, your livestock will need both food and water. In a drought, you are better off with well-watered, well-fed, and well-taken-care-of livestock. It’s better than just having insurance.

So, even if you are a livestock farmer, do not feel discouraged, apply and mention what you do and why you need the irrigation system.