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

譯者: Patricia Kuo 審譯者: Thomas Tam

In West Africa, where I live,

在西非，也就是我居住的地方

there are 60 million smallholder farmers.

有 6,000 萬小農戶。

Smallholder farmers are the largest group

他們是每天生活費

of people living on less than two dollars a day.

不足兩美元的最大群體。

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

每年都有許多人挨餓， 因為他們沒有種植足夠的食物。

Government subsidies,

政府補貼

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

對一個國家來說 能每年有 9,000 萬那麼多

don’t meet full demand

也不能滿足全部的需求

and are often driven to large farms and male farmers,

同時經常是提供給 大農場和男性農民，

even though women are the backbone of farming in Africa.

即使女性 是非洲農業的支柱。

Despite these investments,

儘管有了這些投資。

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

四十多年來，每公頃的產量 並沒有顯著增加

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

因此，小農戶的大部分收入 都是在收穫季節賺取的，

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

但是 9 個月後，在播種的時候， 他們又缺乏現金了。

The prevailing assumption is that farmers need grants,

普遍的假設是 農民需要補助金，

subsidies or credit

補貼或貸款

in order to be able to invest in their farms.

以便能夠 投資於他們的農場。

But we found a surprising insight.

但我們發現了一個令人驚訝的見解。

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

根本問題並非是農民沒有現金，

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

是他們在需要時沒有。

I first came across this paradox in 2008,

我第一次在 2008 年 接觸到這個悖論，

when I was working in microcredit.

在我從事小額信貸工作的時候。

Farmers would ask me things like,

農民會問我這樣的問題：

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

「我可以超額償還我明年的貸款嗎？」

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

或者，「嘿，我可以提前一年 償還我的貸款嗎？」

Even though they were using the language of credit,

儘管他們使用的是借貸的術語，

what they were actually describing was a need to save.

他們所描述的 實際上是一種存款的需求。

But do farmers have any money to save?

但是農民有沒有錢可存呢？

Do people living on less than two dollars a day

每天靠不到兩美元生活的人

have any money to save?

是否能存任何錢?

Well, it turns out that they do,

嗯，事實證明，他們確實可以

just in very small increments.

只是非常小的錢。

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

在當地的市場上， 他們可能以一美元賣幾顆雞蛋，

or sell a goat for 10,

或是 10 美金賣掉隻羊，

work on someone else's farm,

到別的農場工作，

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

而隨著時間的推移，你可以想像 這些錢是如何累積起來的。

But many farmers live far away from banks,

但許多農民住在 離銀行很遠的地方，

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

所以他們持有這些錢， 或者他們把它藏在家裡，

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

暴露在盜竊、火災、 甚至洪水的風險下。

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

而且，即使沒有這些風險， 家裡存錢是很吸引人的，

It's hard to hold on to cash.

堅守現金是很難的。

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

而有時，最聰明的做法 可能是花掉它。

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

因此，農民面臨的真正問題是 他們缺乏一個安全的地方來儲蓄。

And if they could save,

如果他們能儲蓄，

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

他們就有能力購買所需要的東西， 使農場更有生產力，

and resilient to climate change.

和對氣候變化更適應。

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

在撒哈拉以南的非洲地區， 每年 1,000 億美元的問題

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

塞圖是馬里的花生種植者， 她正面臨著類似的挑戰。

When we met in 2014, she was feeling overwhelmed.

當我們在 2014 年相遇時， 她感到不堪重負，

Climate change was hurting her harvest,

氣候變化正在損害她的收成，

and at planting time,

在收成期，

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

她甚至沒有錢 租一頭牛來耕種她的農場，

let alone money for improved seeds and fertilizer.

更不用說購買改良種子 和化肥的錢了。

But we realized she could have saved for what she needed

但我們意識到，她本來可以 為她需要的東西節省花費，

if she had a safe place to do so.

如果她有個安全的地方這麼做的話。

我們的非營利組織 myAgro 幫助農民 在馬里、塞內加爾和坦桑尼亞，

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

save up, little by little,

一點一點地攢錢，

for the improved seeds and fertilizer they need.

以獲得改良的種子 和所需要的化肥。

Together, these help improve harvests

這些有助於提高收成，

and generate a 3x return on their investment.

在他們的投資上獲得 3 倍的回報。

Here's how the program works.

以下是該計劃的執行方式，

We start with a young entrepreneur like Demba.

我們從一個年輕的 像登巴這樣的企業家開始，

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

我們為他配備了一部智能手機 和我們的應用程序，myAgro Connect，

so that he can manage his sales territory.

他可以管理他的銷售領域。

At harvest time, Demba visits farmers in his village

登巴在收穫季節， 在他的村子裡拜訪農民，

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

並詢問他們是否 願意註冊 myAgro 套餐，

to improve their harvest and income.

以提高他們的收成和收入。

After a farmer signs up,

農民簽約之後

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

他們有九個月的時間可以慢慢支付。

To collect their savings payments,

以收取他們的儲蓄付款

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

我們複製了人們購買 預付電話費的方式。

It's really simple --

這真的很簡單——

you buy a scratch card, scratch off the back,

你買一張刮刮卡，刮掉背面，

and a unique code appears,

並出現一個獨特的代碼，

which you text in to validate your payment.

你將其輸入來驗證你的付款。

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

我們使用同樣的技術來幫助農民 為播種期積蓄資金，

and because farmers are familiar with how it works,

而且因為農民熟悉 它的運作方式，

they trust it and use it correctly.

他們能信任它和正確操作。

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

它比傳統的方法更加透明：

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

通常是你把你的現金 給一個代理人，沒有任何收據。

With our platform,

通過我們的平台，

we know exactly who has made a payment

我們清楚地知道是誰 及可時付了款項

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

和村里企業家需要轉移給我們的金額，

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

如果他們有移動支付， 農民也可以直接支付。

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

農民能夠以快樂的方式存錢。

They often hold on to their scratch cards,

他們通常會緊緊抓住

and they look at them with awe and pride

自己的刮刮卡， 帶著威嚴和自豪的表情，

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

對於他們能夠在這期間節省的錢。

It's transparent, convenient and stress-free.

過程是透明的、 方便和沒有壓力。

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

告訴我，你的銀行 甚麼時候讓你這麼高興？

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

(Applause)

(掌聲)

Designing --

設計--

(Applause)

(掌聲)

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

以這種方式設計一個儲蓄計劃 對於婦女帶來許多便利性。

They value the democratic access to seeds and fertilizer,

他們重視以民主方式獲得 種子和化肥，

and the savings cadence matches the small amounts of money

而儲蓄的節奏相加上他們每週

they earn each week at local markets.

在當地市場賺到少量的錢。

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

在一個 20% 的婦女 擁有銀行賬戶的地區

60 percent of myAgro farmers are women.

60% 的 myAgro 農民是婦女。

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

2021 年，myAgro 的農民 平均種植的糧食數量增加 2 倍，

than non-myAgro farmers in the same area.

比起同地區不使用 myArgo 的農民。

This translates to 200 dollars of additional net income.

這就意味著 200 美元 的額外淨收入。

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

對於一個農民 每天靠 1.5 美元生活

that's a 35 percent increase.

那是一個 35% 的增長。

And by expanding the purchasing power for smallholder farmers,

並通過擴大小農戶的購買力，

the financial prospects of young entrepreneurs like Dembe

像年輕創業者登巴的財務前景，

are also improving.

也在進步。

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

在 myAgro 之前， 他自己賣貨做得還不錯，

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

但現在，他通過我們的模式 向社區出售種子和化肥，

he is thriving.

正在蓬勃發展。

He bought two freezers to expand his business,

他買了兩個冰櫃 以擴大他的業務

and he dreams of building a home for his family.

而他的夢想 是為他的家人建造一個家。

Last year, Dembe served 400 farmers in his village.

去年，登巴幫助他的村子裡 400 名農民，

Using a savings-led model has many benefits.

使用以節約為主導的模型 有許多好處。

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

對於農民來說， 它是可靠和低壓力的。

For the organization,

對組織而言，

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

這意味著我們不需要 每年籌集大量的營運資金。

Instead, we're unlocking capital from farmers directly.

相反，我們直接釋放 從農民那裡獲得資金。

And by offering farmers a trusted and transparent way

並通過向農民提供 一個值得信賴和透明的方式，

to save their own money,

以節省他們自己的錢。

they are breaking the cycle of poverty for their families

他們正在為他們的家 打破貧窮的循環，

and entering a cycle of investment and growth.

並進入一個投資和增長的周期。

Meanwhile,

同時，

Setou has transformed her life,

塞圖的人生也轉變了，

all with the power of her own savings and farming.

靠著她自己的儲蓄和耕作。

2014 年，她決定嘗試 我們的計劃，

In 2014, she decided to try us

and planted a quarter of her peanut farm with us.

與我們種植了她自己 四分之一的花生農場。

Each year, with her increased profits,

每年，隨著她的利潤增加，

she reinvested a portion in building her assets.

她將一部分再投資於 在建立她的資產方面。

Today, she owns ten cows,

如今，她擁有十頭牛，

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

她將其出租給鄰居們 以賺取額外收入。

(Applause)

(掌聲)

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

去年，她與 myAgro 種植了她的 整個一公頃的花生農場。

And with her profit,

伴隨她的利潤，

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

她自豪地將她的家人 從一室一廳的家.....

to this.

搬到這裡。

(Cheers and applause)

(歡呼和鼓掌)

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

而現在，下一代正受益於 賽圖聰明的農場投資。

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

當我們把這個模式擴大時， 它將會是一個變革。

Today, we serve over 100,000 farmers,

今天，我們為超過 10 萬名農民服務，

and with investments in data and technology,

並通過投資在數據 和技術方面的投資，

our audacious vision is to reach one million farmers

我們大膽的願望 是為 100 萬農民提供服務，

in the next five years.

是在未來五年內。

(Cheers and applause)

(歡呼和鼓掌)

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

我們相信，我們可以利用 農民自身儲蓄的力量，

to greatly reduce poverty and hunger in West Africa.

大幅減少西非的貧困和飢餓。

Now is the time to use a savings-led approach

現在是時候使用以節約為主導的方法

to ending poverty for farmers.

以結束農民的貧窮。

謝謝。

Thank you.

(歡呼和鼓掌)

(Cheers and applause)