Partner with us

The farmers who need this most are the ones who cannot buy it.

If you are a philanthropist or an impact investor, we would love to hear from you.

We believe that the world’s most vulnerable farmers should have access to new technology, so they can grow more food with less water.

Australian not-for-profit
Tax-deductible (DGR)
Registered charity, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
A woman farmer at Ngolowindo irrigation scheme, Malawi, reading the colour on her Chameleon sensor

What the research shows

Published research has shown what happens when farmers can see what their soil is doing.

Tanzania
Half the water

Farmers using VIA equipment halved their water use.

Mdemu et al. (2020)

Mozambique
Double the yield

Farmers doubled what they harvested.

Chilundo et al. (2020)

Malawi
Triple the margin

Farmers trebled their gross margins.

Chikankheni et al. (2024)

Zimbabwe
4× food per drop

Four times the food grown per unit of water consumed.

Moyo et al. (2020)

Water is our shared problem

It took decades for the world to agree on targets to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Like the atmosphere, water is a resource we need to protect. It is a massive task to measure water in agriculture so it can be shared equitably to grow more food.

Following their experience with the VIA, the government of Malawi has already set a target for a quarter of their irrigated land to be monitored in the next five years. This campaign is the start of putting that policy into action.

Cover of the Government of Malawi National Irrigation Policy, 2024
Malawi National Irrigation Policy, 2024.
The size of the problem
a fifth

of the world’s cultivated farmland is irrigated

a half

of the value of everything agriculture produces comes off it

tens of millions

of farmers have no way of knowing when their crops really need water, and so cannot make best use of a very scarce resource

Do you share our vision?

After 20 years of research, VIA is filling one of the most glaring gaps in smallholder irrigation management. The results are in.

Research is not enough. As we transition from research to scaling for impact, we need help from those who share our vision to change the lives of smallholder farmers.

Where we are
100,000

sensors built in Africa. It took us ten years.

What real impact needs
Ten-fold

We need to increase production ten-fold. That is what your partnership buys.

Three ways in

If that’s you, please pick whichever fits.

Talk to us about a partnership

For philanthropists, foundations and impact investors. We will show you the numbers behind everything on this page and what a partnership could look like.

Donate

Straight into getting Chameleons into the hands of farmers who cannot buy them.

Tax-deductible in Australia (DGR)
Buy a kit for a friend

A$99. They get a summer of knowing instead of guessing, and a Malawian farmer gets a kit.

Malawi is where we start

The Malawi campaign is just one focus, where we have staff on the ground and the backing of local authorities. But we have many other opportunities, across Africa, India and Vietnam.

Map of the countries where VIA has worked