The "Greenhouse-in-a-Box" Empowering Farmers in India | Sathya Raghu Mokkapati | TED Countdown

譯者: Minghui Luo 審譯者: Helen Chang

When we look at poor smallholder farmers across the world,

當我們看到世界各地的貧困小農時，

and particularly in my country, India,

特別是在我的國家，印度

we often think that what they need is access to better tools,

我們經常認為他們所需要的是 獲得更好的農具、

education, government support, markets and so on.

教育、政府支持和市場等。

Yes, they need all that.

對，他們需要這些。

But what they really need is a reliable and regular income

但他們真正需要的是可靠和穩定的收入，

to live with dignity.

以此體面地生活。

A dependable income,

一份可靠的收入，

even if it is as small as 100 dollars a month,

哪怕一個月只有100美元，

is essential for them to stay out of poverty.

對他們擺脫貧困也至關重要。

Today, their incomes are in and out of poverty,

現在，他們仍在貧窮綫上下徘徊，

which is extremely painful.

這令人感到非常痛心。

Growing up in South India,

我在印度南部長大，

I could not overlook what poverty did to our farmers.

我無法忽視當地農民遭受過的貧窮。

I was about 17 years old when one day,

我當時17歲，那天，

I saw a farmer in my village sitting next to a farm stream

我看到村裡的一個農民 坐在農場的小溪旁，

and eating something from the ground.

並從地上拿東西吃。

Something did not seem right.

那東西看起來不太對勁。

I walked up to him to see what was going on.

我走進他，想看看到底發生了什麼。

I was shocked to see him eat mud.

我很震驚，他在吃泥土。

Mud.

泥土。

Brown, soft mud from the stream.

小溪旁的棕色軟泥。

I was afraid he might die.

我害怕他會因此死亡。

I yelled at him.

我朝他喊道：

"What is this stupid mud-eating business?"

「吃泥土，這是什麼愚蠢的行為？」

He looked at me helplessly and said,

他絕望地看著我說：

"I'm a farmer, my crops failed;

「我是個農民，我的莊稼沒收成。

my stomach doesn't know that my pocket is empty."

我的胃不知道我的錢包空空如也。」

I walked away quite helplessly.

我絕望地走開了。

That night, I shared this with my grandfather.

那天晚上，我把這事告訴了我祖父。

He was a remarkable man, very clever.

他是個了不起的人，非常的聰明。

He was a part of the Indian freedom struggle

他曾參與聖雄甘地領導的印度獨立運動。

under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

Unlike me, he wasn't surprised at all.

不像我，他一點兒也不驚訝。

He knew of people who added rice starch to mud

他知道有人會在泥土中加入米澱粉，

to calm their hunger.

以此來緩解飢餓。

And he told me something profound.

他告訴我一些深刻的東西。

If you see a person walking on the road without footwear,

如果你看到有個人不穿鞋走在路上，

it is important to understand the root cause:

重要的是你要明白其中的根本原因：

that the person doesn't have enough money to probably buy the footwear.

那個人可能沒有足夠的錢來買鞋。

I finished my college,

大學畢業後，

started working with a big company,

我在一家大型企業工作，

but that incident kept coming back to me.

但我一直會想起那件事情。

Why are smallholder farmers in such abject poverty?

為什麼小農會陷入如此赤貧的境地？

What causes them to be so desperate,

是什麼讓他們如此絕望？

and why is it that, even in 21st-century India,

而且，為什麼在21世紀的印度，

one farmer dies by suicide every 51 minutes?

每51分鐘就會有一個農民死於自殺？

My cofounders and I spent about six months traveling across India,

我和其他創始人花了大概六個月的時間，

走遍印度，

meeting hundreds of farmers to listen to them.

採訪了數百名農民，並聽取他們的意見。

It became clear that climate risk is the root cause

很明顯，氣候風險才是根本原因，

that causes farming to be unpredictable and unviable.

是它使農業生產變得 不可預料和不可行。

Farmers who make reasonable money in one season

農民們會在某個季度獲得了不錯的收入，

can fail miserably in the next.

也會在下個季度顆粒無收。

And farmers who could grow crops earlier in summers

可以在初夏種植莊稼的農民，

no longer get to grow crops in summers.

現在也不能在夏季進行種植了。

Heat is so much more.

因為溫度升高了。

The wells are drying up,

水井正在乾涸，

every year, there are new varieties of pests and diseases.

每年都有新的病蟲害出現。

Farmers told us that this is all because of because of God.

農民們告訴我們這都是因為上帝。

I said, "What?"

我問：「什麼？」

"This is all because of God."

「都是因為上帝。」

God is the one who caused it, God is the only one who can solve it.

上帝是始作俑者，也只有他能救我們。

God, in that context, I did not see as a sign of hope.

我的天，從那種話裡，

我聽不出一點希望來。

I read it as a sign of helplessness.

我只聽出了絕望。

We heard from the farmers.

我們傾聽那些農民的心聲。

They knew the problem,

他們知道問題所在，

but they could not use these two words: "climate risk."

但他們不知道有個詞叫做： 「氣候風險」。

So we got together a team of engineers,

所以我們成立了一支隊伍， 這隻隊伍由來自大概6個國家的工程師、

scientists, designers from about six countries,

科學家和設計師組成，

to cocreate a solution with our farmers,

我們一起合作，為農民們提供解決方案。

which is quite unconventional.

這個方案打破了常規。

And the solution is “greenhouse-in-a-box.”

這個方案叫做“盒子裡的溫室”。

We call it "Kheyti Rakshak."

我們也叫它「Kheyti Rakshak」。

It’s a micro-greenhouse.

這是一個微型溫室，

It's a beautiful greenhouse

一個美麗的溫室，

which sits in a small portion of the farmer's land.

它的佔地面積很小。

It's easy to build, a small structure,

要製作它很容易，它結構小巧，

covered with netting on all sides,

四面被網罩住，

which cuts off heat, prevents bugs and saves water.

能夠散熱、隔絕害蟲和節約用水。

We can't cool the entire planet in one day,

我們無法在一天之內使整個地球降溫，

but we definitely can create a climate for a small portion of a farmer’s land

但我們肯定能

為農民的小塊土地 創造一個適宜耕種的溫度。

to be suitable for farming.

From our first experiences of growing vegetables --

從我們最初種植蔬菜的實驗看，

staple vegetables like tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers --

主食蔬菜例如西紅柿、捲心菜和黃瓜，

we observed that greenhouses can increase yields up to seven times

在溫室的環境下能增產7倍，

and use 90 percent less water.

而且用水量減少了90%。

All this was too good to be true.

所有的這些成果都好到不真實。

All these things are so difficult to happen,

這些看起來是那麼遙不可及，

so farmers couldn't believe it, unless they actually saw it in action.

所以農民們不相信，除非親眼所見。

So to make this happen,

所以為了使這些變成現實，

we had to have the courage to reimagine agriculture --

我們必須要有勇氣重新構想農業—

reimagine agriculture for smallholder farmers.

為那些小農業生產者。

After all, this is not to grow tomatoes in an industrial setting in Alaska

畢竟這不是在冬季的阿拉斯加，

進行西紅柿的工業化生產。

in winters.

It is to grow tomatoes for a smallholder farmer,

而是為了小農能夠種植西紅柿，

by a smallholder farmer, in sizzling hot Indian summers.

是為了受印度炎熱夏季折磨的小農戶。

So this greenhouse had to be small enough to fit in a portion of their land,

所以這個溫室要足夠小巧， 剛好適合他們土地的一小部分，

easy enough for them to use

也要足夠簡單，便於他們使用，

and cheap enough for them to buy.

還要足夠便宜，這樣他們才有能力購買。

One of the biggest challenges that we could overcome in the process

在此過程中，

我們能克服的最大挑戰之一是融資。

is financing.

Thanks to our financing partners,

感謝我的投資夥伴，

today, this greenhouse is available with financing

現在這個溫室變得可用，

which is fast enough and cheap enough.

它既易操作，也足夠便宜。

The greenhouse costs about 1,000 dollars.

溫室的價格大約是1000美元。

Farmers pay a down payment of about 100 dollars,

農民們只需支付約100美元的首付，

and the rest is financed through a loan.

餘下的可以貸款。

And this life-changing asset

這種改善生活的溫室，

adds and extra 100 dollars of profit, on average, to a household,

可以每月為一個家庭增加 平均100美元的額外收入。

month on month.

This is a good double of what they otherwise make.

這是用其他方式獲得收入的兩倍。

Marginal, five-ten percent increases in the incomes of smallholder farmers

小農的最低收入提高了5%-10%，

cannot move the needle forward much,

這已經是極限了，

because the baseline is way too low.

因為最低收入的基準實在太低了。

We need a significant jump in their income,

我們需要大幅提高他們的收入，

and that income has to be reliable and dependable.

這份收入也要可靠且穩定。

To ensure that farmers succeed,

為了保證農民們能夠成功營收，

we also provide quality seeds, nutrition,

我們還提供優質的種子、營養劑、

training and advisory leveraging mobile technology.

培訓和使用移動技術的咨詢服務。

We rolled out the solution, after quite a few tests with farmers,

大約三年前，

about three years ago,

我們與農民們進行多次試驗後， 推出了解決方案，

and we are marching towards 2,000 farmers in this year

今年我們為2000位農民提供了幫助，

and looking at 100,000 farmers over the next five years.

也有望在接下來的五年裡， 幫助10萬的農民。

Hopefully, every smallholder farmer in my lifetime.

希望能幫助我遇到的每一個農民。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

The best technologies in agriculture can reach the smallest of the farmers

如果我們能做好兩件事，

if we do two things well:

最好的農業技術就能惠及更多的農民：

listen to the farmer with curiosity, empathy and compassion,

其一，帶著好奇心、 同理心和同情心來傾聽農民的心聲，

and keep smallholder farmers, particularly women farmers,

其二，要關照小農，尤其是務農的女性，

at the center of the design,

有目的地來提出解決方案。

and build solutions.

Then, we can cocreate mini solutions like Kheyti Rakshak,

然後，我們再輔以一些小措施， 例如 Kheyti Rakshak，

which bring dignity, hope and stability to the lives of the farmers.

它能為農民們帶來體面的， 充滿希望的和穩定的生活。

In this big fight against climate change,

在這場與氣候變化對抗的艱苦斗爭中，

we all have to remember that we should take our smallholder farmers along;

我們不能忘記我們的小農，

it is our collective responsibility.

這是我們共同的責任和義務。

India is a home for about 100 million smallholder farmers.

印度有大概1億的小農，

I dream of a day

我夢想著有一天，

when "smallholder farmer" becomes synonymous with a happy farmer,

「小農」能成為快樂農民的代名詞，

and being forced to eat mud should never be a feature again, anywhere.

不再有任何地方 存在有被迫吃泥土的特徵。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌聲和歡呼聲）