0:00:00.827,0:00:04.340
I've been living in rural East Africa[br]for about 10 years,

0:00:04.340,0:00:08.226
and I want to share a field perspective[br]with you on global poverty.

0:00:08.226,0:00:10.511
I believe that the greatest failure[br]of the human race

0:00:10.511,0:00:13.077
is the fact that we've left more than[br]one billion of our members behind.

0:00:13.077,0:00:16.661
Hungry, extreme poverty:

0:00:16.661,0:00:20.146
these often seem like gigantic,[br]insurmountable problems

0:00:20.146,0:00:22.185
too big to solve,

0:00:22.185,0:00:24.110
but as a field practitioner,

0:00:24.110,0:00:26.753
I believe these are actually[br]very solvable problems

0:00:26.753,0:00:30.457
if we just take the right strategies.

0:00:30.457,0:00:32.841
Archimedes was an ancient Greek thinker,

0:00:32.841,0:00:34.929
and he taught us that if we lean[br]on the right levers,

0:00:34.929,0:00:37.131
we can move the world.

0:00:37.131,0:00:40.710
In the fight against extreme poverty,[br]I believe there are three powerful levers

0:00:40.710,0:00:42.074
that we can lean on.

0:00:42.074,0:00:45.200
This talk is all about those levers,[br]and why they make poverty

0:00:45.200,0:00:47.931
a winnable fight in our lifetimes.

0:00:47.931,0:00:50.249
What is extreme poverty?

0:00:50.249,0:00:52.468
When I first moved to rural East Africa,

0:00:52.468,0:00:54.835
I stayed overnight with a farm family.

0:00:54.835,0:00:57.024
They were wonderful people.

0:00:57.024,0:00:59.802
They invited me into their home.[br]We sang songs together

0:00:59.802,0:01:01.051
and ate a simple dinner.

0:01:01.051,0:01:03.618
They gave me a blanket[br]to sleep on the floor.

0:01:03.618,0:01:06.332
In the morning, however,[br]there was nothing to eat,

0:01:06.332,0:01:10.114
and then at lunchtime, I watched[br]with an increasingly sick feeling

0:01:10.114,0:01:14.981
as the eldest girl in the family[br]cooked porridge as a substitute for lunch.

0:01:14.981,0:01:19.454
For that meal, every child[br]drank one cup to survive,

0:01:19.454,0:01:22.464
and I cannot tell you how ashamed[br]I felt when they handed one

0:01:22.464,0:01:27.067
of those cups to me, and I knew[br]I had to accept their hospitality.

0:01:27.067,0:01:31.490
Children need food not only to survive[br]but also to grow physically and mentally.

0:01:31.490,0:01:35.319
Every day they fail to eat,[br]they lose a little bit of their future.

0:01:35.319,0:01:38.020
Amongst the extreme poor,[br]one in three children

0:01:38.020,0:01:42.326
are permanently stunted[br]from a lifetime of not eating enough.

0:01:42.326,0:01:44.923
When that's combined[br]with poor access to health care,

0:01:44.923,0:01:50.071
one in 10 extremely poor children[br]die before they reach age five,

0:01:50.071,0:01:52.619
and only one quarter of children[br]complete high school

0:01:52.619,0:01:54.262
because they lack school fees.

0:01:54.262,0:01:57.583
Hunger and extreme poverty[br]curb human potential

0:01:57.583,0:02:00.264
in every possible way.

0:02:00.264,0:02:05.198
We see ourselves as a thinking,[br]feeling, and moral human race,

0:02:05.198,0:02:08.091
but until we solve these problems[br]for all of our members,

0:02:08.091,0:02:10.277
we fail that standard,

0:02:10.277,0:02:12.917
because every person[br]on this planet matters.

0:02:12.917,0:02:14.800
This child matters.

0:02:14.800,0:02:17.249
These children matter.

0:02:17.249,0:02:20.421
This girl matters.

0:02:20.421,0:02:22.248
You know, we see things like this,

0:02:22.248,0:02:23.742
and we're upset by them,

0:02:23.742,0:02:25.720
but they seem like such big problems.

0:02:25.720,0:02:28.579
We don't know how[br]to take effective action.

0:02:28.579,0:02:30.814
But remember our friend Archimedes.

0:02:30.814,0:02:34.037
Global poverty has powerful levers.

0:02:34.037,0:02:36.189
It's a problem like any other.

0:02:36.189,0:02:38.658
I live and work in the field,[br]and as a practitioner,

0:02:38.658,0:02:41.420
I believe these are very[br]solvable problems.

0:02:41.420,0:02:42.770
So for the the next 10 minutes,

0:02:42.770,0:02:45.021
let's not be sad[br]about the state of the world.

0:02:45.021,0:02:47.044
Let's engage our brains.

0:02:47.044,0:02:49.872
Let's engage our collective passion[br]for problem-solving

0:02:49.872,0:02:52.667
and figure out what those levers are.

0:02:52.667,0:02:56.136
Lever number one: most[br]of the world's poor are farmers.

0:02:56.136,0:02:58.503
Think about how extraordinary this is.

0:02:58.503,0:03:00.789
If this picture represents[br]the world's poor,

0:03:00.789,0:03:03.453
then more than half engage in farming

0:03:03.453,0:03:04.709
as a major source of income.

0:03:04.709,0:03:06.544
This gets me really excited.

0:03:06.544,0:03:09.044
You know, all of these people,[br]one profession.

0:03:09.044,0:03:12.579
Think how powerful this is.[br]When farmers become more productive,

0:03:12.579,0:03:15.374
then more than half the world's poor[br]earn more money

0:03:15.374,0:03:16.995
and climb out of poverty.

0:03:16.995,0:03:18.285
And it gets better.

0:03:18.285,0:03:20.472
The product of farming[br]is, of course, food,

0:03:20.472,0:03:23.677
so when farmers become more productive,[br]they earn more food,

0:03:23.677,0:03:25.569
and they don't just help themselves,

0:03:25.569,0:03:29.513
but they help to feed healthy communities[br]and thriving economies.

0:03:29.513,0:03:33.297
And when farmers become more productive,[br]they reduce environmental pressure.

0:03:33.297,0:03:35.829
We only have two ways[br]we can feed the world:

0:03:35.829,0:03:39.003
we can either make our existing farmland[br]a lot more productive,

0:03:39.003,0:03:42.652
or we can clearcut forest and savannah[br]to make more farmland,

0:03:42.652,0:03:45.151
which would be environmentally disastrous.

0:03:45.151,0:03:49.197
Farmers are basically[br]a really important leverage point.

0:03:49.197,0:03:51.432
When farmers become more productive,

0:03:51.432,0:03:54.063
they earn more income,[br]they climb out of poverty,

0:03:54.063,0:03:58.323
they feed their communities, and they[br]reduce environmental land pressure.

0:03:58.323,0:04:02.333
Farmers stand at the center of the world.

0:04:02.333,0:04:04.275
And not a farmer like this one,

0:04:04.275,0:04:06.313
but rather this lady.

0:04:06.313,0:04:08.719
Most of the farmers I know[br]are actually women.

0:04:08.719,0:04:12.200
Look at the strength and the will[br]radiating from this woman.

0:04:12.200,0:04:14.469
She is physically strong, mentally tough,

0:04:14.469,0:04:17.495
and she will do whatever it takes[br]to earn a better life for her children.

0:04:17.495,0:04:20.586
If we're going to put the future[br]of humanity in one person's hands,

0:04:20.586,0:04:22.861
then I'm really glad it's her.

0:04:22.861,0:04:25.831
(Applause)

0:04:28.185,0:04:29.662
There's just one problem:

0:04:29.662,0:04:34.973
many smallholder farmers[br]lack access to basic tools and knowledge.

0:04:34.973,0:04:38.294
Currently, they take a little bit[br]of saved food grain from the prior year,

0:04:38.294,0:04:41.977
they plant it in the ground,[br]and they till it with a manual hand hoe.

0:04:41.977,0:04:44.608
These are tools and techniques[br]that date to the Bronze Age,

0:04:44.608,0:04:48.357
and it's why many farmers[br]are still very poor.

0:04:48.357,0:04:50.413
But good news, again.

0:04:50.413,0:04:51.613
Lever number two:

0:04:51.613,0:04:56.217
humanity actually solved the problem[br]of agricultural poverty a century ago.

0:04:56.217,0:05:00.064
Let me walk you through the three[br]most basic factors in farming.

0:05:00.064,0:05:04.676
First, hybrid seed is created[br]when you cross two seeds together.

0:05:04.676,0:05:07.365
If you naturally pollinate[br]a high-yielding variety

0:05:07.365,0:05:09.634
together with a drought-resistant variety,

0:05:09.634,0:05:13.635
you get a hybrid that inherits[br]positive traits from both of its parents.

0:05:13.635,0:05:17.263
Next, conventional fertilizer,[br]if used responsibly,

0:05:17.263,0:05:19.320
is environmentally sustainable.

0:05:19.320,0:05:22.657
If you micro-dose[br]just a pinch of fertilizer

0:05:22.657,0:05:24.712
to a plant that's taller than I am,

0:05:24.712,0:05:27.376
you unlock enormous yield gain.

0:05:27.376,0:05:29.513
These are known as farm inputs.

0:05:29.513,0:05:31.964
Farm inputs need to be combined[br]with good practice.

0:05:31.964,0:05:36.189
When you space your seeds,[br]and plant with massive amounts of compost,

0:05:36.189,0:05:38.821
farmers multiply their harvests.

0:05:38.821,0:05:41.418
These proven tools and practices[br]have more than tripled

0:05:41.418,0:05:44.738
agricultural productivity[br]in every major region of the world,

0:05:44.738,0:05:48.193
moving mass numbers of people[br]out of poverty.

0:05:48.193,0:05:51.300
We just haven't finished delivering[br]these things to everybody just yet,

0:05:51.300,0:05:53.847
particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

0:05:53.847,0:05:55.803
So overall, this is amazing news.

0:05:55.803,0:05:59.537
Humanity actually solved[br]agricultural poverty a century ago,

0:05:59.537,0:06:00.950
in theory.

0:06:00.950,0:06:04.206
We just haven't delivered these things[br]to everybody just yet.

0:06:04.206,0:06:06.774
In this century, the reason[br]that people remain poor

0:06:06.774,0:06:09.174
is that maybe they live in remote places.

0:06:09.174,0:06:11.970
They lack access to these things.

0:06:11.970,0:06:16.573
Therefore, ending poverty is simply[br]a matter of delivering proven goods

0:06:16.573,0:06:18.391
and services to people.

0:06:18.391,0:06:20.733
We don't need more genius types right now.

0:06:20.733,0:06:23.841
The humble delivery guy[br]is going to end global poverty

0:06:23.841,0:06:25.500
in our lifetime.

0:06:25.500,0:06:27.705
So these are the three levers,

0:06:27.705,0:06:30.517
and the most powerful lever[br]is simply delivery.

0:06:30.517,0:06:34.926
Wherever the world's companies,[br]governments, and non-profits

0:06:34.926,0:06:37.324
set up delivery networks[br]for life-improving goods,

0:06:37.324,0:06:40.023
we eliminate poverty.

0:06:40.023,0:06:42.388
Okay, so that sounds[br]really nice in theory,

0:06:42.388,0:06:43.546
but what about in practice?

0:06:43.546,0:06:46.006
What do these delivery networks look like?

0:06:46.006,0:06:48.669
Well, I want to share[br]the concrete example that I know best,

0:06:48.669,0:06:51.103
my organization, One Acre Fund.

0:06:51.103,0:06:52.731
We only serve the farmer,

0:06:52.731,0:06:56.036
and our job is to provide her[br]with the tools that she needs to succeed.

0:06:56.036,0:06:59.440
We start off by delivering farm inputs[br]to really rural places.

0:06:59.440,0:07:01.791
Now, this may appear[br]initially very challenging,

0:07:01.791,0:07:03.879
but it's pretty possible. Let me show you.

0:07:03.879,0:07:06.807
We buy farm inputs with the combined power[br]of our farmer network,

0:07:06.807,0:07:09.638
and store it in 20 warehouses like this.

0:07:09.638,0:07:13.384
Then, during input delivery,[br]we rent hundreds of 10-ton trucks

0:07:13.384,0:07:16.787
and send them out to where farmers[br]are waiting in the field.

0:07:16.787,0:07:20.453
They then get their individual orders[br]and walk it home to their farms.

0:07:20.453,0:07:23.315
It's kind of like Amazon[br]for rural farmers.

0:07:23.315,0:07:28.394
Importantly, realistic delivery[br]also includes finance, a way to pay.

0:07:28.394,0:07:33.624
Farmers pay us little by little over time,[br]covering most of our expenses.

0:07:33.624,0:07:36.073
And then we surround[br]all that with training.

0:07:36.073,0:07:39.720
Our rural field officers[br]deliver practical, hands-on training

0:07:39.720,0:07:41.285
to farmers in the field

0:07:41.285,0:07:43.522
every two weeks.

0:07:43.522,0:07:47.024
Wherever we deliver our services,[br]farmers use these tools

0:07:47.024,0:07:48.949
to climb out of poverty.

0:07:48.949,0:07:51.956
This is a farmer[br]in our program, Consolata.

0:07:51.956,0:07:54.175
Look at the pride on her face.

0:07:54.175,0:07:57.991
She has achieved a modest prosperity[br]that I believe is the human right

0:07:57.991,0:08:01.314
of every hardworking person on the planet.

0:08:01.314,0:08:05.933
Today, I'm proud to say that we're serving[br]about 400,000 farmers like Consolata.

0:08:05.933,0:08:09.371
(Applause)

0:08:12.115,0:08:14.747
The key to doing this[br]is scalable delivery.

0:08:14.747,0:08:17.476
In any given area, we hire[br]a rural field officer

0:08:17.476,0:08:20.501
who delivers our services[br]to 200 farmers on average,

0:08:20.501,0:08:23.987
with more than 1,000 people[br]living in those families.

0:08:23.987,0:08:27.374
Today, we have 2,000[br]of these rural field officers

0:08:27.374,0:08:28.854
growing very quickly.

0:08:28.854,0:08:30.771
This is our delivery army,

0:08:30.771,0:08:32.899
and we're just one organization.

0:08:32.899,0:08:35.669
There are many companies,[br]governments, and non-profits

0:08:35.669,0:08:38.441
that have delivery armies just like this.

0:08:38.441,0:08:40.233
And I believe we stand at a moment in time

0:08:40.233,0:08:45.511
where collectively, we are capable of[br]delivering farm services to all farmers.

0:08:45.511,0:08:48.026
Let me show you how possible this is.

0:08:48.026,0:08:50.135
This is a map of Sub-Saharan Africa,

0:08:50.135,0:08:52.153
with a map of the United States for scale.

0:08:52.153,0:08:55.968
I chose Sub-Saharan Africa because[br]this is a huge delivery territory.

0:08:55.968,0:08:57.420
It's very challenging.

0:08:57.420,0:09:01.263
But we analyzed every 50 mile[br]by 50 mile block on the continent,

0:09:01.263,0:09:06.854
and we found that half of farmers[br]live in just these shaded regions.

0:09:06.854,0:09:10.044
That's a remarkably small area overall.

0:09:10.044,0:09:12.417
If you were to lay these boxes[br]next to each other

0:09:12.417,0:09:14.105
within a map of the United States,

0:09:14.105,0:09:16.785
they would only cover[br]the Eastern United States.

0:09:16.785,0:09:20.402
Well, you can order pizza[br]anywhere in this territory

0:09:20.402,0:09:24.759
and it'll arrive to your house[br]hot, fresh, and delicious.

0:09:24.759,0:09:27.851
If America can deliver pizza[br]to an area of this size,

0:09:27.851,0:09:30.988
then Africa's companies,[br]governments, and non-profits

0:09:30.988,0:09:34.227
can deliver farm services[br]to all of her farmers.

0:09:34.227,0:09:36.363
This is possible.

0:09:36.363,0:09:40.541
I'm going to wrap up by generalizing[br]beyond just farming.

0:09:40.541,0:09:42.629
In every field of human development,

0:09:42.629,0:09:46.542
humanity has already invented[br]effective tools to end poverty.

0:09:46.542,0:09:48.233
We just need to deliver them.

0:09:48.233,0:09:50.587
So again, in every area[br]of human development,

0:09:50.587,0:09:53.777
super-smart people a long time ago[br]invented inexpensive,

0:09:53.777,0:09:56.060
highly effective tools.

0:09:56.060,0:10:00.237
Humanity is armed to the teeth[br]with simple, effective solutions

0:10:00.237,0:10:01.374
to poverty.

0:10:01.374,0:10:04.804
We just need to deliver these[br]to a pretty small area.

0:10:04.804,0:10:08.411
Again using the map[br]of Sub-Saharan Africa as an example,

0:10:08.411,0:10:12.341
remember that rural poverty is[br]concentrated in these blue shaded areas.

0:10:12.341,0:10:17.059
Urban poverty is even more concentrated,[br]in these green little dots.

0:10:17.059,0:10:20.021
Again, using a map[br]of the United States for scale,

0:10:20.021,0:10:24.442
this is what I would call[br]a highly achievable delivery zone.

0:10:24.442,0:10:26.613
In fact, for the first time[br]in human history,

0:10:26.613,0:10:30.082
we have a vast amount of delivery[br]infrastructure available to us.

0:10:30.082,0:10:32.631
The world's companies,[br]governments, and non-profits

0:10:32.631,0:10:35.377
have delivery armies that are fully[br]capable of covering

0:10:35.377,0:10:37.927
this relatively small area.

0:10:37.927,0:10:41.001
We just lack the will.

0:10:41.001,0:10:43.401
If we are willing,

0:10:43.401,0:10:46.182
every one of us has a role to play.

0:10:46.182,0:10:49.518
We first need more people to pursue[br]careers in human development,

0:10:49.518,0:10:52.115
especially if you live[br]in a developing nation.

0:10:52.115,0:10:55.174
We need more frontline health workers,[br]teachers, farmer trainers,

0:10:55.174,0:10:57.672
sales agents for life-improving goods.

0:10:57.672,0:11:00.073
These are the delivery people[br]that dedicate their careers

0:11:00.073,0:11:02.594
to improving the lives of others.

0:11:02.594,0:11:04.760
But we also need a lot of support roles.

0:11:04.760,0:11:08.869
These are roles available[br]at just my organization alone,

0:11:08.869,0:11:10.613
and we're just one out of many.

0:11:10.613,0:11:14.180
This may surprise you, but[br]no matter what your technical speciality,

0:11:14.180,0:11:17.174
there is a role for you in this fight.

0:11:17.174,0:11:20.462
And no matter how logistically possible[br]it is to end poverty,

0:11:20.462,0:11:22.741
we need a lot more resources.

0:11:22.741,0:11:25.001
This is our number one constraint.

0:11:25.001,0:11:28.273
For private investors, we need[br]a big expansion of venture capital,

0:11:28.273,0:11:32.532
private equity, working capital,[br]available in emerging markets.

0:11:32.532,0:11:35.623
But there are also limits[br]to what private business can accomplish.

0:11:35.623,0:11:39.963
Private businesses often struggle[br]to profitably serve the extreme poor,

0:11:39.963,0:11:42.893
so philanthropy still has[br]a major role to play.

0:11:42.893,0:11:45.865
Anybody can give, but we need[br]more leadership.

0:11:45.865,0:11:49.402
We need more visionary philanthropists

0:11:49.402,0:11:52.048
and global leaders who will take[br]problems in human development

0:11:52.048,0:11:55.732
and lead humanity to wipe them[br]off the face of the planet.

0:11:55.732,0:11:59.133
If you're interested in these ideas,[br]check out this website.

0:11:59.133,0:12:01.305
We need more leaders.

0:12:01.305,0:12:04.447
Humanity has put people on the moon.

0:12:04.447,0:12:06.570
We've invented supercomputers[br]that fit into our pockets

0:12:06.570,0:12:08.554
and connect us with anybody on the planet.

0:12:08.554,0:12:12.470
We've run marathons[br]at a five-minute mile pace.

0:12:12.470,0:12:15.264
We are an exceptional people.

0:12:15.264,0:12:19.260
But we've left more than one billion[br]of our members behind.

0:12:19.260,0:12:21.794
Until every girl like this one[br]has an opportunity

0:12:21.794,0:12:23.816
to earn her full human potential,

0:12:23.816,0:12:28.699
we have failed to become[br]a truly moral and just human race.

0:12:28.699,0:12:31.413
Logistically speaking,[br]it's incredibly possible

0:12:31.413,0:12:33.217
to end extreme poverty.

0:12:33.217,0:12:36.082
We just need to deliver[br]proven goods and services

0:12:36.082,0:12:37.562
to everybody.

0:12:37.562,0:12:41.952
If we have the will, every one of us[br]has a role to play.

0:12:41.952,0:12:44.828
Let's deploy our time, our careers,

0:12:44.828,0:12:46.671
our collective wealth.

0:12:46.671,0:12:49.705
Let us deliver an end to extreme poverty

0:12:49.705,0:12:51.604
in this lifetime.

0:12:51.604,0:12:53.166
Thank you.

0:12:53.166,0:12:57.046
(Applause)