B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●○ medium
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4BHistory grows each quarter
myAgro: Buying seed and fertiliser by saving small amounts on a mobile phone. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
The reason smallholders in West Africa cannot raise their yields is cash before it is technique. Seed and fertiliser are needed just before planting; cash is in hand only just after harvest. That six-month mismatch reproduced the same poverty every year.
Anushka Ratnayake spent months talking to farmers and noticed that what they asked for was to pre-pay for a few months, or even a year, before taking a loan — they were describing a need not for credit but for savings. The sight of mobile phone airtime being bought in tiny amounts gave it a shape. The scheme she started in 2011 lets farmers save a little at a time from the harvest season onwards, using scratch cards or mobile money, and then receive seed, fertiliser and training together at planting time. It is not a loan but prepayment of their own money, so there is no interest and no collection. More than 250,000 farmers in Mali, Senegal and Tanzania use it, and by the organization's accounting yields rise by 50% to 100%. A network of field staff running training at the edge of the plot, and the mobile system that records the savings, are the two halves of the operation.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
Farmers in West Africa had no cash at planting time, when seed and fertiliser are needed, and cash only just after harvest. Anushka Ratnayake heard farmers say they wanted to pre-pay for some months before taking a loan, and recognized that they were describing a need for savings rather than credit. The sight of mobile airtime being bought in tiny amounts gave it a shape: farmers save a little at a time from the harvest season and receive inputs and training at planting. It is not a loan but prepayment of their own money — no interest, no collection. More than 250,000 farmers in three countries use it and, by the organization's accounting, yields rise 50% to 100%. Nature of sources: program-official plus independent (foundation and specialist press).
Source nature: myAgro / Skoll Foundation / T2 program-official and industry media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T2 program-official and industry media
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Effects largely self-reported
- reach to the poorest and who carries climate risk
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Expanding countries and farmer numbers and automating the savings process.
A second look
The yield and income figures rest mainly on the organization's own counting, with limited independent verification. Saving is possible for farmers with some income, which leaves open whether this reaches the poorest. In a year of climate-driven crop failure, the farmer carries the risk that what they saved is wasted.
Sources
+N1myAgro / Skoll Foundation｜2025｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top