Pillar Project Research – Agriculture

General Research & Info

South Africa Facts & Trends- Agriculture o http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/facts_brochure_mockup_04_b.

pdf o “If we can reduce food and wastage, we won’t need to produce so much

more. A lot of food is lost between the farmers’ field and the dinner table… in food storage, transport, food processing, retain… and in our kitchens.”

o “Water availability is the single most important factor that limits

agricultural production in South Africa.” o “While a third of South Africa receives sufficient rain for crop production,

only 1/3 of this area (approximately 12% of the country) has fertile soil.” o “As a labor intensive and rural industry, agriculture has an important role

to play in job creation and poverty o “Over the past 50 years we have created a system that is economically

and ecologically unsustainable. The result is that we are depleting our natural resources – rivers, arable land and species – faster than at any

other time in history. Fortunately, solutions are taking shape and there are signs that future growth will happen in more efficient and

responsible ways.”

o “Agriculture has done more to reshape the natural world than anything else we humans do, both its landscapes and its fauna and flora. Our

eating also constitutes a relationship with dozens of other species – plants, animals, and fungi – with which we have co-evolved to the point

where our fates are deeply intertwined.” -Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Financing Smallholder Farms o http://opportunity.org/content/News/Publications/Knowledge%20Excha

nge/Financing-Smallholder-Farmers-Opportunity-International.pdf o “Most farmers are operating at just 40% of their potential capacity.”

o “Many farmers also lose up to 50 percent of their annual potential income because they must gain quick access to cash to afford household expenses all year.”

o “More than one in four Africans are undernourished. Additionally,

smallholder farmers comprise half of the world’s undernourished people and a majority of people living in absolute poverty. Experts estimate that food production in Africa must increase by 50 percent to feed an estimated population of 1.3 billion by 2030.”

Footnote citations on website o Biggest issue is that farmers lack access to necessary financial services,

farming technology, training, and fair crop markets.

They must partner to find this kind of access.

Forced to borrow from unregulated moneylenders with unfairly high interest rates.

Yofesi Nsubuga – coffee farmer client Robina Nakabito, Uganda

Blog Posts – Agricultural Series

Specify to each country OI works with, make very interesting for Americans to read because it’s not something we deal with often

I decided to do a blog series rather than 3 separate posts in order to keep people interested and wanting to read more (since they’ll be aware more is coming), to show

the readers that there was purpose and thought put into the series so it must be an important topic; to keep the blog system concise, clean and easy to follow.

Possible series names: a creative name using alliteration that represents the 3 stages of giving information, laying out the issues and proposing solutions

o “Truths, Troubles, and Transformations” o “Facts, Faults, and Futures”

o “Info, Issues, and Ideas/Ideals”

Blog 1: (the info) This blog will focus in on the truth about agriculture and how it is more than what meets the eye at first glance. It will break it all down, making the reader aware of how many aspects of human life depend on the numerous

types of agriculture, and what ‘agriculture’ really means / consists of for people abroad.

o The creative side: embed info graphic to make it visually appealing,

filtered photos of clients farming, etc. Graphic displaying things that derive from agriculture

Graphic of what products are produced where

o Agriculture includes farming AND livestock o Agriculture products are used by us each day:

Alarm clock made of plastic derived from corn or soybeans Cotton clothing

Food we eat Vehicle powered by ethanol Wool blankets Employment

http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/Agriculture-Bigger-

Think.html#.U6w3V41Pfcg o “Nearly 80% of the population in sub-Sahara Africa lives in rural areas

and 70% of this population are dependent on food production through farming or livestock keeping for most of their livelihood.”

http://practicalaction.org/agriculture_aid “Small-scale farming provides most of the food production in

Africa, as well as employment for 60% of working people” o Have a section of the blog that focuses on what types of goods are most

produced in which parts of the world and why Break it down in a visually appealing, easy to understand, and

interesting way that surprises readers

Blog 2: (the issue) This blog will focus on the current issues and problematic sectors of agriculture around the world (inadequate funding, shortage of supplies, weather/soil issues, etc.

o Aid to agriculture is declining o Women’s importance to agriculture is not being recognized:

“Of the women in the least developed countries who report

being economically active, 79% report agriculture as their

primary source of livelihood.” –FAO

“Women tend to be employed for labor-intensive tasks and generally earn lower wages than

men” –FAO “Women wage workers

dominate employment in areas of export-oriented high-value

agriculture in the developing world.”

“The vast majority of studies have shown that differences in

yields between men and women exist not because women are

less skilled but because they

have less access to inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers,

and equipment.” –FAO o Hand weeding is a major barrier:

75% of the 250m tons of crops grown in Sub-Sahara Africa are on smallholder farms, and 75% of

those farms are weeded by hand. 50-70% of total labor time is

spent on hand weeding, 90% of hand weeding done by women,

and 70% of farm children between 5 and 14 are forced to leave school to hand weed during peak season.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/mar/02/female-face-farming-fao#zoomed-picture

“Girls who stay in school are more likely to be able to feed themselves and their families when they become adults”. This

directly correlates into the vicious cycle: if young girls are pulled out of school to have to hand weed (as a result of no technology or funding), that will affect their future family as well.

Blog 3: (the solution) This blog will call to action. After having the previous 2 blogs giving information and addressing the problem, this final post will encourage the readers to do something- whether that means raise awareness, donate money towards this cause, or even go on an insight trip to learn more about this issue first hand.

o Practical Action research indicates that African farmers themselves call for: (http://practicalaction.org/agriculture_aid)

Buttons to share to Twitter (internal and external) One link per paragraph

Greater aid focus on the needs of marginal farmers and pastoralists

Support for long-term food security instead of food aid Improved access to land, credit, water and appropriate seeds and

breeds Improved access to relevant agricultural advice and support; to

appropriate technologies; and an agricultural research system that reflects their needs

A bigger voice in decisions regarding the allocation of resources to agriculture.

o Show the outcomes of taking these steps (what will happen as a result of boosting this system?); tangible for readers

o Focus on how no matter how big or small the action, it still helps

Info-Graphic

Have info-graphic connected to blog or other media form

Interesting and appealing statistic that draws in audience to want to learn more, eventually connecting them to OI website.

60-80% of the food in Africa is produced and marketed by women. o https://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-myths-about-agriculture-

africa

3 facts that reveal Africa’s huge agricultural potential o http://www.one.org/us/2014/01/29/3-facts-that-reveal-africas-huge-

agriculture-potential/

Info graphic of how agriculture affects so many parts of every day life o Clothing, food, plastic, gas, etc.

Quizzes

What veggie are you? Really is supposed to be fun and interesting, THEN leads back to OI at the end

This quiz will be the same style (fun, interesting, easy to take/read) as a Buzz Feed quiz.

Each result will somehow lead back to OI and create interest/traffic Possible topics:

o What country would you most likely be a farmer in? o What type of crop/animal would you be?

Ask fun, personal preference questions that don’t necessarily connect to agriculture in order to develop their answer (what

color, what season, what personality trait, etc.) o Agriculture trivia (how much do you REALLY know?)

Design: o Brand colors

Transparency to look modern and clean) o Pictures to go with each result o Intriguing title

Indicate the length of the quiz (short) so readers know it won’t be a time-thief

o Short, concise, easy-to-read sentences (besides the results)

Slide-Share

Slideshare.net/opportunityintl 10-15 slides

Tell my blog story and use graphics in some of it’s place TITLE = SOLID!

Less words, more graphic

Compile all of the content and research into one presentation Always leads back to OI

Way to easily/quickly flip through information and find what you want

Landing Pages This will be a “home base” that all of the content leads back to

Interesting, visually appealing, easy to navigate, leads back to OI

Create a main home screen (simple, big words, pictures, easy to navigate) o From there, there will be buttons where you can “discover” more about

this topic (i.e. quiz, blogs, info graphics, etc.) Idea: have links on the side that link to each pillar’s landing page?

o This will make the idea of the “pillars” more significant in the reader’s

minds o Talk to other interns/Ian about how to navigate this

Social Media Communication Plan

Overlap different social media sites to get top number of hits/views/likes

Have it all occur over 1-2 weeks Plan due Friday (30 days)

Break it down by each social network What you’re posting WHEN

Promote things on Twitter more than once o Framed differently each time o Break down info graphics to individual posts, all leading back to the info

graphic

Pinterest = separate Canva graphics?

Draft calendar due next Friday Draft content due next Friday

http://www.wfo-oma.com/women-in-agriculture/articles/the-role-of-rural-women-in-

agriculture.html

http://practicalaction.org/agriculture_aid

http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/facts_brochure_mockup_04_b.pdf http://opportunity.org/content/News/Publications/Knowledge%20Exchange/Financing-Smallholder-Farmers-Opportunity-International.pdf

http://www.onecountry.org/story/importance-agriculture