A Transparent, Easy Way for Smallholder Farmers to Save | Anushka Ratnayake | TED

翻译人员: lulu huang 校对人员: Ethan Huang

In West Africa, where I live,

在我生活的西非，

there are 60 million smallholder farmers.

那里有 6000 万小农户。

Smallholder farmers are the largest group

他们是每天生活费

of people living on less than two dollars a day.

不足两美元的最大群体。

Many go hungry each year because they don't grow enough to eat.

每年都有很多人挨饿， 因为他们种的粮食不够吃。

Government subsidies,

国家每年

which could be as much as 90 million in a single year for a country,

可能高达 9000 万的政府补贴

don’t meet full demand

并不能满足所有需求，

and are often driven to large farms and male farmers,

而且尽管妇女才是非洲农业的支柱，

even though women are the backbone of farming in Africa.

补贴往往流向大型农场 和男性农民那里。

Despite these investments,

尽管有这些资助，

yields per hectare haven’t increased significantly in over four decades.

但每公顷农田的产量在 40 多年来 并没有显著增加。

So smallholder farmers earn the bulk of their cash at harvest time,

小农户在收获季节挣到大部分的钱，

but then, fast-forward nine months later, at planting time, they're cash-poor again.

但到了 9 个月后的播种季节， 他们就又缺钱了。

The prevailing assumption is that farmers need grants,

普遍的设想是农民需要拨款、

subsidies or credit

补贴或信贷，

in order to be able to invest in their farms.

才有能力投资他们的农田。

But we found a surprising insight.

我们发现了一个令人惊讶的见解。

The fundamental problem isn't that farmers have no cash.

根本的问题不是农民没有钱。

It's that they don't have it when they need it.

而是当他们需要用钱的时候， 他们手头上没有。

I first came across this paradox in 2008,

我在 2008 年从事小额信贷工作时，

when I was working in microcredit.

首次接触到这个悖论，

Farmers would ask me things like,

农民们会问我一些问题比如，

“Can I over-repay my loan for next year’s loan?”

“我可以为明年的贷款 超额还贷吗？”

or, “Hey, could I repay my loan a year in advance?”

或者“我可以提前一年还贷吗？”

Even though they were using the language of credit,

虽然他们讲的是信贷术语，

what they were actually describing was a need to save.

但实际上他们表达的是 一种储蓄的需求。

But do farmers have any money to save?

但是农民有钱存储吗？

Do people living on less than two dollars a day

每天生活费不到两美元的人

have any money to save?

有钱可存吗？

Well, it turns out that they do,

事实证明他们有，

just in very small increments.

只是能存的量很少。

At a local market, they might sell a few eggs for a dollar,

在当地市场， 他们可以卖几个鸡蛋挣 1 美元，

or sell a goat for 10,

或卖一只山羊挣 10 美元，

work on someone else's farm,

也可以在别人的农场工作赚钱，

and over time, you can imagine how that money could add up.

随着时间的推移， 你可以想象这些钱会怎样增加。

But many farmers live far away from banks,

但很多农民住得远离银行，

so they hold that money on them, or they hide it at home,

所以他都把钱放在身上， 或者藏在家里，

where it's at risk of theft, fire, even flood.

这样他们就面临着被盗、 火灾甚至洪水的风险。

And hey, even without those risks, money at home is tempting.

而且即使没有这些风险， 钱留在家里也会诱人消费。

It's hard to hold on to cash.

想留住现金是很困难的。

And sometimes, the smartest thing to do might be to spend it.

有时最明智的做法 可能就是把钱花掉。

So the real problem that farmers face is that they lack a safe place to save.

所以农民面临的真正问题是 他们缺少安全的储蓄场所。

And if they could save,

如果他们能够储蓄，

they could afford to buy what they need to make their farms more productive

他们就能够买得起他们需要的东西， 从而使他们的农场更加高产，

and resilient to climate change.

以及更能应对气候变化。

This is a 100-billion-dollar problem in sub-Saharan Africa each year.

这是个关乎于撒哈拉以南非洲地区 每年 1000 亿美元的问题。

Setou, a peanut farmer in Mali, was facing a similar challenge.

在马里，种花生的农民泽图（Setou） 也面临过着类似的挑战。

When we met in 2014, she was feeling overwhelmed.

当 2014 年我们相遇时， 她感到不知所措。

Climate change was hurting her harvest,

气候变化当时正损害她的收成，

and at planting time,

并且她甚至没有钱在播种的时候

she didn't even have money to rent a cow to plow her farm,

租一头牛来犁地，

let alone money for improved seeds and fertilizer.

更不用说买改良种子和肥料了。

But we realized she could have saved for what she needed

但我们意识到， 如果她有一个安全的储蓄场所，

if she had a safe place to do so.

她就可以为她需要的东西存钱了。

我们的非营利组织 myAgro， 帮助马里、塞内加尔和坦桑尼亚的农民

Our nonprofit, myAgro, helps farmers in Mali, Senegal and Tanzania

save up, little by little,

一点点地逐渐攒钱，

for the improved seeds and fertilizer they need.

来购买他们需要的改良种子和肥料。

Together, these help improve harvests

总之，这些会帮助提高收成

and generate a 3x return on their investment.

并产生 3 倍的投资回报。

Here's how the program works.

这个项目是这样运行的。

We start with a young entrepreneur like Demba.

我们从年轻企业家登巴 （Demba）开始入手。

We equip him with a smartphone and our app, myAgro Connect,

我们给他配备的智能手机里有应用程序 myAgro Connect，

so that he can manage his sales territory.

这样他就可以管理他的销售区域了。

At harvest time, Demba visits farmers in his village

在收获季节， 登巴会拜访同村的农民，

and asks them if they want to sign up for a myAgro package

询问他们是否愿意签约 myAgro 项目

to improve their harvest and income.

以提高他们的收成和收入。

After a farmer signs up,

在农民签约之后，

they can pay slowly, over the course of nine months.

他们可以在未来 9 个月里 慢慢进行支付。

To collect their savings payments,

为了收集他们的储蓄付款，

we replicate the way people buy prepaid minutes for their phone.

我们采取了与人们购买手机预付分钟 相同的方式。

It's really simple --

这方法真的很简单——

you buy a scratch card, scratch off the back,

买一张刮卡， 刮掉背面的涂层

and a unique code appears,

就会出现唯一编码，

which you text in to validate your payment.

通过短信发送编码 就可以验明你的话费支付。

We use the same technology to help farmers save up for the planting period,

我们用同样的方法 帮助农民为播种期储蓄，

and because farmers are familiar with how it works,

同时因为农民们 熟悉它的运行过程，

they trust it and use it correctly.

他们信任它并能正确地使用。

It's also so much more transparent than traditional methods,

它也比传统的 只是让你把钱交给代理人

which is usually, you hand over your cash to an agent, without any receipt.

而没有任何收据的方法透明很多。

With our platform,

有了我们的平台，

we know exactly who has made a payment

我们确切地知道谁支付了款项，

and when and how much the village entrepreneur needs to transfer to us.

以及农村企业家 需要在何时向我们转账多少。

A farmer can also pay directly via mobile money, if they have it.

如果有智能手机的话， 农民也可直接在手机上移动支付。

Farmers are able to save up in a way that's joyful.

农民能够以一种快乐的方式储蓄。

They often hold on to their scratch cards,

他们经常拿着自己的刮卡，

and they look at them with awe and pride

怀着敬意和自豪的心情 看着这些卡，

of how much they've been able to save over time.

看看他们随着时间的推移 存了多少钱。

It's transparent, convenient and stress-free.

这种方式透明、便捷 并且没有压力。

Tell me, when was the last time your bank made you that happy?

和我讲讲，银行上一次让你这么开心 是在什么时候？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Designing --

设计——

(Applause)

（掌声）

Designing a savings plan this way has made it particularly easy for women.

设计这种方式的储蓄计划 对女性来说尤其容易使用。

They value the democratic access to seeds and fertilizer,

他们看重以民主的方式 来获取种子和肥料，

and the savings cadence matches the small amounts of money

这种储蓄节奏 与她们每周在当地市场

they earn each week at local markets.

赚取的少量金钱相匹配。

In a region where 20 percent of women own a bank account,

在一个只有 20% 的女性 拥有银行账户的地区里，

60 percent of myAgro farmers are women.

女性占了 myAgro 的用户的 60%。

在 2021 年，myAgro 用户的平均粮产量

In 2021, the average myAgro farmer grew two times more food

than non-myAgro farmers in the same area.

在同一地区比非 myAgro 用户多两倍。

This translates to 200 dollars of additional net income.

这相当于额外净收入 200 美元。

For context, for a farmer living on 1.50 per day,

举个例子，对于每天生活费 为 1.5 美元的农民，

that's a 35 percent increase.

这意味着 35% 的收入增长。

And by expanding the purchasing power for smallholder farmers,

通过扩大小农户的购买力，

the financial prospects of young entrepreneurs like Dembe

像登巴这样的年轻企业家的财务前景

are also improving.

也在得到改善。

Before myAgro, he was doing OK selling goods on his own,

在加入 myAgro 之前， 他靠自己卖东西赚得还行，

but now, selling seeds and fertilizer to his community via our model,

但现在通过我们的模式 向他的社区出售种子和肥料

he is thriving.

使他的生意蒸蒸日上。

He bought two freezers to expand his business,

为了扩大业务，他买了两个冰柜，

and he dreams of building a home for his family.

并且还梦想着为家人建一个家。

Last year, Dembe served 400 farmers in his village.

登巴去年为他同村的 400 个农民 提供了服务。

Using a savings-led model has many benefits.

使用储蓄主导模式有很多好处。

For the farmers, it's reliable and low-stress.

对农民来说， 这是可靠和低负担的。

For the organization,

对于整个非盈利组织来说，

it means we don't need to raise large amounts of working capital each year.

这意味着我们不需要每年筹集 大量的运营资金。

Instead, we're unlocking capital from farmers directly.

相反的是， 我们直接从农民那里释放资金。

And by offering farmers a trusted and transparent way

通过向农民提供一个 可信且透明的方式

to save their own money,

来帮他们节省自己的钱，

they are breaking the cycle of poverty for their families

他们正在打破他们家庭的贫困循环，

and entering a cycle of investment and growth.

并且进入投资和增长的循环。

Meanwhile,

与此同时，

Setou has transformed her life,

泽图用自己的储蓄和耕种

all with the power of her own savings and farming.

改变了她的生活。

In 2014, she decided to try us

她在 2014 年决定尝试加入我们，

and planted a quarter of her peanut farm with us.

并用自家花生地的四分之一 参与了我们的项目。

Each year, with her increased profits,

随着每年利润的增加，

she reinvested a portion in building her assets.

她都会将一部分利润 再投资于资产建设。

Today, she owns ten cows,

如今她拥有十头牛，

which she rents out to her neighbors to earn additional income.

她可以将其出租给邻居来赚取额外的收入。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Last year, she planted her entire one-hectare peanut farm with myAgro.

去年，她使用 myAgro 种植了 全部 1 公顷的花生地。

And with her profit,

有了利润之后，

she proudly moved her family from their one-bedroom home ...

她自豪地把家人从只有一居室的房子里

to this.

搬到了这里。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）

And now, the next generation is benefiting from Setou’s smart farm investments.

现在，下一代正受益于 泽图英明的农场投资。

When we get this model to scale, it will be transformational.

当我们将这种模式规模化时， 它将变得是变革性的。

Today, we serve over 100,000 farmers,

如今，我们为超过十万名农民 提供服务，

and with investments in data and technology,

同时通过对数据和技术的投资，

our audacious vision is to reach one million farmers

我们大胆的愿景是

在未来 5 年内 覆盖 100 万农民。

in the next five years.

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）

我们相信我们能够利用 农民自己的储蓄

We believe we can harness the power of farmers' own savings

to greatly reduce poverty and hunger in West Africa.

来大大减少西非的贫穷和饥饿。

Now is the time to use a savings-led approach

是到了用储蓄为主导的方法

to ending poverty for farmers.

来结束农民贫穷的时候了。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）