0:00:01.166,0:00:04.236
I've been living in rural East Africa[br]for about 10 years,

0:00:04.260,0:00:07.440
and I want to share a field perspective[br]with you on global poverty.

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I believe that the greatest failure[br]of the human race

0:00:10.532,0:00:13.938
is the fact that we've left more than[br]one billion of our members behind.

0:00:14.335,0:00:16.677
Hungry, extreme poverty:

0:00:16.701,0:00:19.989
these often seem like gigantic,[br]insurmountable problems,

0:00:20.013,0:00:21.446
too big to solve.

0:00:22.006,0:00:23.715
But as a field practitioner,

0:00:23.739,0:00:26.543
I believe these are actually[br]very solvable problems

0:00:26.567,0:00:29.008
if we just take the right strategies.

0:00:30.390,0:00:32.505
Archimedes was an ancient Greek thinker,

0:00:32.529,0:00:35.013
and he taught us that if we lean[br]on the right levers,

0:00:35.037,0:00:36.447
we can move the world.

0:00:36.959,0:00:40.675
In the fight against extreme poverty,[br]I believe there are three powerful levers

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that we can lean on.

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This talk is all about those levers,[br]and why they make poverty

0:00:45.122,0:00:47.207
a winnable fight in our lifetimes.

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What is extreme poverty?

0:00:50.287,0:00:52.232
When I first moved to rural East Africa,

0:00:52.256,0:00:54.156
I stayed overnight with a farm family.

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They were wonderful people.

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They invited me into their home.[br]We sang songs together

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and ate a simple dinner.

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They gave me a blanket[br]to sleep on the floor.

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In the morning, however,[br]there was nothing to eat.

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And then at lunchtime, I watched[br]with an increasingly sick feeling

0:01:10.041,0:01:14.133
as the eldest girl in the family[br]cooked porridge as a substitute for lunch.

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For that meal, every child[br]drank one cup to survive.

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And I cannot tell you how ashamed I felt

0:01:21.589,0:01:23.552
when they handed one of those cups to me,

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and I knew I had to accept[br]their hospitality.

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Children need food not only to survive[br]but also to grow physically and mentally.

0:01:31.265,0:01:34.431
Every day they fail to eat,[br]they lose a little bit of their future.

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Amongst the extreme poor,[br]one in three children

0:01:38.020,0:01:41.620
are permanently stunted[br]from a lifetime of not eating enough.

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When that's combined[br]with poor access to health care,

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one in 10 extremely poor children[br]die before they reach age five.

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And only one quarter of children[br]complete high school

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because they lack school fees.

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Hunger and extreme poverty curb[br]human potential in every possible way.

0:02:00.771,0:02:05.061
We see ourselves as a thinking,[br]feeling and moral human race,

0:02:05.085,0:02:08.120
but until we solve these problems[br]for all of our members,

0:02:08.144,0:02:09.829
we fail that standard,

0:02:10.332,0:02:12.674
because every person[br]on this planet matters.

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This child matters.

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These children matter.

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This girl matters.

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You know, we see things like this,

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and we're upset by them,

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but they seem like such big problems.

0:02:25.349,0:02:28.184
We don't know how[br]to take effective action.

0:02:28.893,0:02:30.790
But remember our friend Archimedes.

0:02:31.572,0:02:33.900
Global poverty has powerful levers.

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It's a problem like any other.

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I live and work in the field,[br]and as a practitioner,

0:02:38.493,0:02:41.296
I believe these are very[br]solvable problems.

0:02:41.320,0:02:42.801
So for the next 10 minutes,

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let's not be sad[br]about the state of the world.

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Let's engage our brains.

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Let's engage our collective passion[br]for problem-solving

0:02:49.627,0:02:51.816
and figure out what those levers are.

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Lever number one: most[br]of the world's poor are farmers.

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Think about how extraordinary this is.

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If this picture represents[br]the world's poor,

0:03:00.729,0:03:04.034
then more than half engage in farming[br]as a major source of income.

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This gets me really excited.

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All of these people, one profession.

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Think how powerful this is.

0:03:10.727,0:03:14.245
When farmers become more productive,[br]then more than half the world's poor

0:03:14.269,0:03:16.673
earn more money and climb out of poverty.

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And it gets better.

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The product of farming[br]is, of course, food.

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So when farmers become more productive,[br]they earn more food,

0:03:23.849,0:03:25.570
and they don't just help themselves,

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but they help to feed healthy communities[br]and thriving economies.

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And when farmers become more productive,[br]they reduce environmental pressure.

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We only have two ways[br]we can feed the world:

0:03:35.749,0:03:39.072
we can either make our existing farmland[br]a lot more productive,

0:03:39.096,0:03:42.376
or we can clear cut forest and savannah[br]to make more farmland,

0:03:42.400,0:03:44.650
which would be environmentally disastrous.

0:03:45.688,0:03:49.000
Farmers are basically[br]a really important leverage point.

0:03:49.496,0:03:51.429
When farmers become more productive,

0:03:51.453,0:03:54.064
they earn more income,[br]they climb out of poverty,

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they feed their communities and they[br]reduce environmental land pressure.

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Farmers stand at the center of the world.

0:04:02.306,0:04:04.006
And not a farmer like this one,

0:04:04.030,0:04:05.625
but rather this lady.

0:04:06.055,0:04:08.211
Most of the farmers I know[br]are actually women.

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Look at the strength and the will[br]radiating from this woman.

0:04:11.995,0:04:14.207
She is physically strong, mentally tough,

0:04:14.231,0:04:17.662
and she will do whatever it takes[br]to earn a better life for her children.

0:04:17.686,0:04:20.830
If we're going to put the future[br]of humanity in one person's hands,

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then I'm really glad it's her.

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(Applause)

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There's just one problem:

0:04:29.405,0:04:34.148
many smallholder farmers[br]lack access to basic tools and knowledge.

0:04:34.748,0:04:38.436
Currently, they take a little bit[br]of saved food grain from the prior year,

0:04:38.460,0:04:41.840
they plant it in the ground[br]and they till it with a manual hand hoe.

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These are tools and techniques[br]that date to the Bronze Age,

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and it's why many farmers[br]are still very poor.

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But good news, again.

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Lever number two:

0:04:51.336,0:04:55.702
humanity actually solved the problem[br]of agricultural poverty a century ago.

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Let me walk you through the three[br]most basic factors in farming.

0:04:59.944,0:05:04.341
First, hybrid seed is created[br]when you cross two seeds together.

0:05:04.365,0:05:07.169
If you naturally pollinate[br]a high-yielding variety

0:05:07.193,0:05:09.504
together with a drought-resistant variety,

0:05:09.528,0:05:13.366
you get a hybrid that inherits[br]positive traits from both of its parents.

0:05:13.390,0:05:17.087
Next, conventional fertilizer,[br]if used responsibly,

0:05:17.111,0:05:18.910
is environmentally sustainable.

0:05:19.433,0:05:22.427
If you micro-dose[br]just a pinch of fertilizer

0:05:22.451,0:05:24.535
to a plant that's taller than I am,

0:05:24.559,0:05:26.733
you unlock enormous yield gain.

0:05:27.118,0:05:28.822
These are known as farm inputs.

0:05:29.241,0:05:31.841
Farm inputs need to be combined[br]with good practice.

0:05:31.865,0:05:35.959
When you space your seeds[br]and plant with massive amounts of compost,

0:05:35.983,0:05:38.536
farmers multiply their harvests.

0:05:38.946,0:05:41.522
These proven tools and practices[br]have more than tripled

0:05:41.546,0:05:44.594
agricultural productivity[br]in every major region of the world,

0:05:44.618,0:05:47.391
moving mass numbers of people[br]out of poverty.

0:05:47.928,0:05:51.267
We just haven't finished delivering[br]these things to everybody just yet,

0:05:51.291,0:05:53.032
particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

0:05:53.925,0:05:55.647
So overall, this is amazing news.

0:05:55.671,0:05:59.227
Humanity actually solved[br]agricultural poverty a century ago,

0:05:59.677,0:06:00.884
in theory.

0:06:00.908,0:06:03.832
We just haven't delivered these things[br]to everybody just yet.

0:06:04.354,0:06:06.741
In this century, the reason[br]that people remain poor

0:06:06.765,0:06:08.971
is because maybe they live[br]in remote places.

0:06:08.995,0:06:11.090
They lack access to these things.

0:06:12.154,0:06:14.715
Therefore, ending poverty[br]is simply a matter

0:06:14.739,0:06:18.161
of delivering proven goods[br]and services to people.

0:06:18.185,0:06:20.483
We don't need more genius types right now.

0:06:20.507,0:06:24.956
The humble delivery guy is going[br]to end global poverty in our lifetime.

0:06:26.088,0:06:27.576
So these are the three levers,

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and the most powerful lever[br]is simply delivery.

0:06:31.033,0:06:34.320
Wherever the world's companies,[br]governments and nonprofits

0:06:34.344,0:06:37.043
set up delivery networks[br]for life-improving goods,

0:06:37.400,0:06:39.541
we eliminate poverty.

0:06:40.023,0:06:42.016
OK, so that sounds really nice in theory,

0:06:42.040,0:06:43.330
but what about in practice?

0:06:43.354,0:06:45.356
What do these delivery networks look like?

0:06:46.006,0:06:48.541
I want to share the concrete example[br]that I know best,

0:06:48.565,0:06:50.476
my organization, One Acre Fund.

0:06:51.165,0:06:52.560
We only serve the farmer,

0:06:52.584,0:06:55.949
and our job is to provide her[br]with the tools that she needs to succeed.

0:06:56.284,0:06:59.238
We start off by delivering farm inputs[br]to really rural places.

0:06:59.262,0:07:01.528
Now, this may appear[br]initially very challenging,

0:07:01.552,0:07:03.763
but it's pretty possible. Let me show you.

0:07:03.787,0:07:06.847
We buy farm inputs with the combined power[br]of our farmer network,

0:07:06.871,0:07:09.190
and store it in 20 warehouses like this.

0:07:09.638,0:07:13.614
Then, during input delivery,[br]we rent hundreds of 10-ton trucks

0:07:13.638,0:07:16.476
and send them out to where farmers[br]are waiting in the field.

0:07:16.953,0:07:20.391
They then get their individual orders[br]and walk it home to their farms.

0:07:20.415,0:07:22.882
It's kind of like Amazon[br]for rural farmers.

0:07:23.694,0:07:28.512
Importantly, realistic delivery[br]also includes finance, a way to pay.

0:07:28.536,0:07:32.989
Farmers pay us little by little over time,[br]covering most of our expenses.

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And then we surround[br]all that with training.

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Our rural field officers[br]deliver practical, hands-on training

0:07:39.826,0:07:41.231
to farmers in the field

0:07:41.255,0:07:42.800
every two weeks.

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Wherever we deliver our services,[br]farmers use these tools

0:07:47.104,0:07:48.674
to climb out of poverty.

0:07:49.193,0:07:51.617
This is a farmer[br]in our program, Consolata.

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Look at the pride on her face.

0:07:54.212,0:07:57.870
She has achieved a modest prosperity[br]that I believe is the human right

0:07:57.894,0:08:00.507
of every hardworking person on the planet.

0:08:01.264,0:08:06.166
Today, I'm proud to say that we're serving[br]about 400,000 farmers like Consolata.

0:08:06.190,0:08:11.857
(Applause)

0:08:11.881,0:08:14.159
The key to doing this[br]is scalable delivery.

0:08:14.482,0:08:17.371
In any given area, we hire[br]a rural field officer

0:08:17.395,0:08:20.551
who delivers our services[br]to 200 farmers, on average,

0:08:20.575,0:08:23.426
with more than 1,000 people[br]living in those families.

0:08:23.805,0:08:27.236
Today, we have 2,000[br]of these rural field officers

0:08:27.260,0:08:28.641
growing very quickly.

0:08:28.665,0:08:30.472
This is our delivery army,

0:08:30.991,0:08:32.658
and we're just one organization.

0:08:32.682,0:08:35.846
There are many companies,[br]governments and nonprofits

0:08:35.870,0:08:38.081
that have delivery armies just like this.

0:08:38.105,0:08:40.151
And I believe we stand at a moment in time

0:08:40.175,0:08:45.078
where collectively, we are capable of[br]delivering farm services to all farmers.

0:08:45.755,0:08:47.532
Let me show you how possible this is.

0:08:47.960,0:08:49.829
This is a map of Sub-Saharan Africa,

0:08:49.853,0:08:51.958
with a map of the United States for scale.

0:08:51.982,0:08:55.370
I chose Sub-Saharan Africa because[br]this is a huge delivery territory.

0:08:55.394,0:08:56.567
It's very challenging.

0:08:57.248,0:09:00.901
But we analyzed every 50-mile[br]by 50-mile block on the continent,

0:09:01.292,0:09:05.897
and we found that half of farmers[br]live in just these shaded regions.

0:09:07.265,0:09:09.597
That's a remarkably small area overall.

0:09:10.195,0:09:12.504
If you were to lay these boxes[br]next to each other

0:09:12.528,0:09:14.164
within a map of the United States,

0:09:14.188,0:09:16.453
they would only cover[br]the Eastern United States.

0:09:17.284,0:09:20.526
You can order pizza[br]anywhere in this territory

0:09:20.832,0:09:23.983
and it'll arrive to your house[br]hot, fresh and delicious.

0:09:24.581,0:09:27.848
If America can deliver pizza[br]to an area of this size,

0:09:27.872,0:09:30.895
then Africa's companies,[br]governments and non-profits

0:09:30.919,0:09:33.942
can deliver farm services[br]to all of her farmers.

0:09:33.966,0:09:35.249
This is possible.

0:09:36.995,0:09:39.748
I'm going to wrap up by generalizing[br]beyond just farming.

0:09:40.292,0:09:42.399
In every field of human development,

0:09:42.423,0:09:46.252
humanity has already invented[br]effective tools to end poverty.

0:09:46.276,0:09:47.687
We just need to deliver them.

0:09:48.322,0:09:50.563
So again, in every area[br]of human development,

0:09:50.587,0:09:53.989
super-smart people a long time ago[br]invented inexpensive,

0:09:54.013,0:09:55.845
highly effective tools.

0:09:55.869,0:09:57.801
Humanity is armed to the teeth

0:09:57.825,0:10:01.163
with simple, effective[br]solutions to poverty.

0:10:01.596,0:10:04.368
We just need to deliver these[br]to a pretty small area.

0:10:05.266,0:10:08.368
Again using the map[br]of Sub-Saharan Africa as an example,

0:10:08.392,0:10:11.866
remember that rural poverty is[br]concentrated in these blue shaded areas.

0:10:12.440,0:10:16.324
Urban poverty is even more concentrated,[br]in these green little dots.

0:10:17.282,0:10:19.798
Again, using a map[br]of the United States for scale,

0:10:20.317,0:10:23.876
this is what I would call[br]a highly achievable delivery zone.

0:10:24.346,0:10:26.508
In fact, for the first time[br]in human history,

0:10:26.532,0:10:30.031
we have a vast amount of delivery[br]infrastructure available to us.

0:10:30.055,0:10:32.779
The world's companies,[br]governments and non-profits

0:10:32.803,0:10:35.026
have delivery armies[br]that are fully capable

0:10:35.050,0:10:37.433
of covering this relatively small area.

0:10:37.927,0:10:40.052
We just lack the will.

0:10:40.913,0:10:42.324
If we are willing,

0:10:42.348,0:10:44.156
every one of us has a role to play.

0:10:45.920,0:10:49.291
We first need more people to pursue[br]careers in human development,

0:10:49.315,0:10:51.463
especially if you live[br]in a developing nation.

0:10:51.487,0:10:54.973
We need more front line health workers,[br]teachers, farmer trainers,

0:10:54.997,0:10:57.109
sales agents for life-improving goods.

0:10:57.439,0:11:00.109
These are the delivery people[br]that dedicate their careers

0:11:00.133,0:11:01.799
to improving the lives of others.

0:11:02.532,0:11:04.485
But we also need a lot of support roles.

0:11:05.731,0:11:08.582
These are roles available[br]at just my organization alone,

0:11:08.606,0:11:10.096
and we're just one out of many.

0:11:10.399,0:11:14.173
This may surprise you, but no matter[br]what your technical specialty,

0:11:14.197,0:11:16.407
there is a role for you in this fight.

0:11:17.158,0:11:20.505
And no matter how logistically possible[br]it is to end poverty,

0:11:20.529,0:11:22.424
we need a lot more resources.

0:11:22.448,0:11:24.292
This is our number one constraint.

0:11:24.811,0:11:28.187
For private investors, we need[br]a big expansion of venture capital,

0:11:28.211,0:11:31.935
private equity, working capital,[br]available in emerging markets.

0:11:32.477,0:11:35.586
But there are also limits[br]to what private business can accomplish.

0:11:35.928,0:11:39.579
Private businesses often struggle[br]to profitably serve the extreme poor,

0:11:39.897,0:11:42.229
so philanthropy still has[br]a major role to play.

0:11:42.998,0:11:45.551
Anybody can give,[br]but we need more leadership.

0:11:46.112,0:11:48.059
We need more visionary philanthropists

0:11:48.083,0:11:51.995
and global leaders who will take[br]problems in human development

0:11:52.019,0:11:55.049
and lead humanity to wipe them[br]off the face of the planet.

0:11:56.276,0:11:59.098
If you're interested in these ideas,[br]check out this website.

0:11:59.122,0:12:00.830
We need more leaders.

0:12:02.174,0:12:04.196
Humanity has put people on the moon.

0:12:04.220,0:12:06.797
We've invented supercomputers[br]that fit into our pockets

0:12:06.821,0:12:08.877
and connect us with anybody on the planet.

0:12:08.901,0:12:12.183
We've run marathons[br]at a five-minute mile pace.

0:12:12.207,0:12:14.650
We are an exceptional people.

0:12:15.822,0:12:18.948
But we've left more than one billion[br]of our members behind.

0:12:19.485,0:12:21.783
Until every girl like this one[br]has an opportunity

0:12:21.807,0:12:23.705
to earn her full human potential,

0:12:24.047,0:12:27.918
we have failed to become[br]a truly moral and just human race.

0:12:28.516,0:12:31.272
Logistically speaking,[br]it's incredibly possible

0:12:31.296,0:12:32.896
to end extreme poverty.

0:12:33.220,0:12:36.102
We just need to deliver[br]proven goods and services

0:12:36.126,0:12:37.323
to everybody.

0:12:37.665,0:12:41.389
If we have the will, every one of us[br]has a role to play.

0:12:42.024,0:12:44.913
Let's deploy our time, our careers,

0:12:44.937,0:12:46.188
our collective wealth.

0:12:46.781,0:12:49.517
Let us deliver an end to extreme poverty

0:12:49.541,0:12:51.208
in this lifetime.

0:12:51.971,0:12:53.122
Thank you.

0:12:53.146,0:13:00.146
(Applause)