Key Takeaways
- Ripple launched a pilot in Colombia that lets farmers receive supplies on credit and repay using the XRP Ledger after harvest.
- Ripple partnered with WËIA and Mercy Corps Ventures to support financial inclusion and track crop sustainability.
- The program uses blockchain to increase transparency, reduce fraud, and improve financial access in rural areas.
- The program offers rural communities better credit access, fairer pricing, and more power. However, risks like volatility and tech barriers are still relevant.
Banking the unbanked is a motto among blockchain enthusiasts who believe using this technology can provide new opportunities for economically displaced individuals and improve general conditions by fostering equality.
XRP’s new pilot project in Colombia aims to contribute to that goal.
Using blockchain technology, the XRP Ledger aims to track crops from seeding to harvest, providing more opportunities to farmers through a Farm Now, Pay Later (FNPL) program.
Informal economies remain widespread across Latin America. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA or CEPAL as it is known in Spanish), informal employment in the region is expected to reach 46.7% in 2024 and 2025.
Despite a slight drop from the previous year, formalizing jobs and providing equal opportunities remain significant challenges.
The FNPL program is part of Mercy Corps Ventures’ Unlocking Opportunity initiative, which is in partnership with World Elite Inventors’ Association (WËIA). It aims to support financial inclusion in rural areas through fintech.
The program does not come without challenges, but it brings many opportunities.
This article explores how it works, what makes it different from traditional rural finance models, what it could mean for farmers, lenders, and Colombia’s agricultural sector, and its potential impact on rural economies worldwide.
How Ripple’s “Farm Now, Pay Later” Works
Ripple’s new pilot program in Colombia uses the XRP Ledger, allowing farmers to perform their tasks without paying upfront by receiving credits for supplies.
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Under the “Farm Now, Pay Later” model, farmers receive seeds, fertilizers, and tools on credit and repay in fiat after harvesting their crop, panela, a type of unrefined sugar made from sugarcane, processing 240 tonnes per month.
The pilot runs on smart contracts powered by the XRP Ledger, which records each transaction. This setup reduces fraud and avoids administrative delays. The decentralized structure lets farmers, suppliers, lenders, and local cooperatives work together without depending on traditional banks.
The WËIA platform tracks agricultural products from planting to harvest, using QR codes to log verifiable sustainability data for each item. This creates an unchangeable supply chain record, helping buyers verify the product’s origin and transparency.
The pilot includes around 300 farmers, nearly half of whom are women, a rate well above Colombia’s national average for female participation in agriculture.
Benefits and Challenges for Colombian Farmers and the XRP
The main goal is financial inclusion, which aligns with the core values of blockchain projects that aim to make a real-world impact.
Whether this project can deliver on that promise remains to be seen. Still, it offers a few early benefits tied to blockchain technology and the program’s design.
Benefits:
- Blockchain transparency: Using blockchain technology, farmers and lenders could track supply chains, payments, and agreements.
- Improved access to financial resources: Farmers could access funding sources without a formal credit history or bank records.
- Flexible repayment timing: Farmers repay loans only after harvesting crops and earning income, which could decrease pressure during the growing season.
- Enhanced market access and pricing: Verified traceability on the blockchain helps farmers earn better prices for sustainable products and connect directly with buyers. Exploitative middlemen could be cut from the process.
- Empowerment of communities: The program targets marginalized groups, especially women. This could open new income paths and boost financial independence among often-excluded groups.
- Strategic advantage: By launching such projects, Ripple strengthens its position as a blockchain project with real-world impact. It adds credibility to the XRP Ledger beyond remittances and shows how XRP infrastructure can support financial inclusion. It could also open future use cases for XRP adoption.
- Trust and visibility: Ripple’s partnership and cooperation with WËIA and Mercy Corps Ventures builds credibility as impact-driven organizations, which helps with donor relations, partnerships, and future funding.
- Support for regulators and governments: The project offers a clear example of crypto being used for the public good. It supports narratives around blockchain, helping formalize informal economies and contributing to development goals without speculation.
Some have applauded the project and thanked Ripple for its support and others have expressed their concerns about the corrupt system in Colombia.
The project does not come without specific challenges, as the next section details.
Challenges:
- Digital divide: Many farmers struggle with digital and blockchain tools. Access and information on how to use could pose one of the main challenges.
- Internet connection: In Colombia and many places in Latin America, remote rural areas can still face unreliable internet connections. As a result, farmers face challenges of connectivity and usability.
- XRP volatility: If the pilot uses XRP for repayments or rewards, volatility, as with any cryptocurrency, is an element to consider, which can affect repayments.
- Environmental challenges: Weather and pests can threaten crops and hurt yields and incomes.
Can Ripple Help Redesign Financial Infrastructure in Latin America?
Ripple joined Colombia Fintech in 2024, seeing it as an opportunity to strengthen its presence in Latin America and support the growth of the country’s fintech sector.
Since 2023, Ripple has also worked with Banco de la República in Colombia to explore how blockchain can improve the country’s payment systems. This expansion results from the government’s efforts to push forward digital asset regulation, in a market where nearly 6 million people use crypto and monthly transaction volumes exceed approximately $17.5 million.
Colombia has seen growing interest in blockchain in various sectors, from agriculture to payments and even mineral supply chain tracking.
Ripple’s efforts in Colombia could help plant another seed worldwide to harvest real results. If successful, they could provide a real-world use case to help shape a global model for blockchain-driven inclusion and fintech transformation.
Across Latin America, countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico have also shown an increasing interest in crypto, testing blockchain in banking, land registries, and social programs.
In a region often seen as economically unstable or lacking transparency, blockchain could offer something rare: verifiable data, decentralized trust, and fewer middlemen. That promise could help rebuild confidence and efficiency where traditional systems have failed.
Conclusion
Ripple’s blockchain pilot program is a relevant approach to decentralized finance for development in marginalized communities, such as rural farmers.
Elements such as smart contracts, supply chain tracking, and the transparency of blockchain combined together can bring positive results that can set a precedent for further projects using blockchain to support the economy in inclusive ways.
While barriers like volatility, user adoption, and technology gaps remain, the initiative reflects a use case with real-world impact. If the model succeeds, it could inspire similar financial inclusion efforts in other underserved regions.
FAQs
Which Latin American countries are leading crypto adoption?
Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia are leading crypto adoption in the region. Brazil ranks highest with strong institutional activity and stablecoin use. Venezuela and Argentina show high adoption due to inflation and economic pressure. Mexico sees strong remittance use and exchange growth. Colombia is strengthening its regulation and blockchain pilots like Ripple’s.
If El Salvador made Bitcoin legal, why isn’t it leading crypto adoption in Latin America?
El Salvador leads in policy, but not in usage. Countries like Brazil and Argentina see more real-world crypto activity every day.
Do farmers in the “Farm Now, Pay Later” program get paid in cryptocurrency like XRP?
No. The program runs on the XRP Ledger but doesn’t pay farmers in crypto. Farmers get supplies on credit and repay after selling their panela harvest.
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