Music video aims to improve agriculture

Among the 22 popular urban music stars are Nigeria's D'banj, Congo DR's Fally Ipupa, Mozambique's Dama Do Bling, and South Africa's DA L.E.S, as part of ONE's new campaign - Do Agric, It Pays. The music video, entitled 'cocoa na chocolate' is scheduled for release in March 2014.

"Do Agric, It Pays pressures political leaders to invest in our farmers, our food and our future, by adopting smart, effective policies aimed at boosting productivity, increasing incomes and helping lift tens of millions of Africans out of extreme poverty," said ONE Africa director, Dr. Sipho S. Moyo, welcoming the artists to South Africa.

Spreading the message

"According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, agricultural growth is 11 times more effective at reducing poverty than growth in other sectors, including mining. This campaign seeks to change the face of agriculture from low profit, traditional agriculture, to a high tech and high value chain industry. This brilliant team of African artists is helping to spread this message, particularly to our youth using their social media platforms. Seen as role models and being connected to the youth, these artists represent a powerful influence when it comes to highlighting and addressing the issues shaping the future of our youth," Moyo said.

Africa's biggest music stars have one purpose in Johannesburg: to make agriculture aspirational and trendy, and they are using their voices to inspire action. "When we were young, the farm was where your parents sent you when you behaved badly," said D'banj, who is leading the other artists on the project.

"Today, we have seen that agriculture is actually something that can bring our youth the jobs they need. The richest person in Africa is a farmer who invests in agri-business: Dangote. We are coming together to tell African youth that agriculture is that thing you see when you switch on MTV, Channel O, Trace. Agriculture is what we need to escape poverty and create business empires. Doing agriculture pays, for individuals and nations."

Commitment to invest

The collaboration is part of ONE's Do Agric, It Pays campaign, launched on 29 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in support of the AU Year of Agriculture and Food Security. In an effort to make sure the Year of Agriculture is not just an empty slogan, artists are calling on their fans to take action and make sure leaders commit to invest 10% of their budgets in agriculture and adopt better policies that will boost productivity, increase incomes and help lift tens of millions Africans out of extreme poverty.

"Agriculture is potentially the single most important source of inclusive growth in Africa, and it deserves the attention of our leaders as well. These artists are collaborating to communicate to their fans, the youth, that agriculture is the biggest prospect for economic development and job creation," Moyo added.