Juliani for Agriculture: Fight Poverty
Award-winning Kenyan hip hop artist Juliani joined a new campaign to help lift more than 85 million Africans out of poverty. Located in Washington D.C., the advocate organization ONE fights extreme poverty across the globe. Through investments in agriculture and enhanced CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme) policies, the advocacy group are calling for African governments to spend at least 10% into these agricultural plans. The campaign is dubbed Do Agric, It Pays hopes to increase incomes through boosting productivity, by creating more capital, more food to sell, and granting Africa’s farmers more effective techniques and technology.
Other collaborators include Benin President Yayi Boni and the Nigerian singer-songwriter D’banj who performed yesterday for an event in Addis Ababa. The Pan African Farmers Association (PAFO), ActionAid International, Acord International, Oxfam and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) are all investing with ONE’s campaign.
These grassroots campaigners of 3 million focus primarily in Africa, and they work with leaders across the continent to strategize on key issues from diseases to more governmental transparency. Backed by the rock celebrity Bono, the organization works by mobilizing the public in their projects.
Do Agric, It Pays started last month, coinciding with the African Union (AU) summit. In discussing the continent’s issues, the AU declared 2014 is the year of agriculture. Juliani said, “In Kenya we have all the ingredients we need to achieve success in agriculture: Fertile soil, access to water, hardworking farmers – there is really no reason for anyone to go hungry.”
According to collaborator and Ivorian football player Yaya Touré, only 8 countries have pledged to invest 10% of their national budgets in agriculture, but he said “it is therefore essential to do more, to go further. Agriculture is vital. Agriculture pays.” The campaign says by holding African leaders to transparent and accountable budgets in this campaign they hope to lift millions of Africans out of extreme poverty.
To read more, visit one.org/doagric
By Colin Smith
