The ONE Campaign is bringing together 20 of Africa’s most popular urban
music stars in Johannesburg this week for Do Agric, It Pays.
Among them are Tanzania’s Diamond, Nigeria’s D’banj, Congo DR’s Fally
Ipupa, Mozambique’s Dama Do Bling, and South Africa’s Judith Sephuma, as
part of ONE’s new campaign: Do Agric, It Pays.
Africa’s top artists will be using their voices this week to record the
biggest music video collaboration on the continent in support of ONE’s
campaign aimed at pushing African leaders to adopt better policies that
will help revolutionize and modernize African agriculture to make it more
prosperous for both citizens and nations.
Participating artists include: D’banj (Nigeria), Buffalo Souljah
(Zimbabwe), Judith Sephuma (South Africa), Vusi Nova (South Africa), Liz
Ogumbu (Kenya), Nancy G (Swaziland), Dama Do Bing (Mozambique), Diamond
(Tanzania), Femi Kuti (Nigeria), Rachid Taha (Algeria), Juliani (Kenya),
Omawumi (Nigeria), Tiken Jah Fakoly (Cote d’Ivoire), Fally Ipupa (DRC),
Kunle Ayo (Nigeria), Krotal (Cameroon), Victoria Kimani (Kenya), Mo Molemi
(South Africa), Ambwene Allen Yessayah (Tanzania), and Dontom (Nigeria).
The music video, entitled ‘cocoa na chocolate’ is scheduled for release in
March 2014 by ONE. This collaboration was co-produced by Cobhams Asuquo and
DeeVee of DB Records; Asuquo, of ‘Jailer’ and ‘Fire on the Mountain’ fame,
is the executive producer. African visual maestro Godfather Productions has
produced Africa’s top hits and is directing the music video.
“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. “According to FAO, 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.”
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 a cool thing
that can bring our youth the jobs they need. The richest dude 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.”
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 through
transparent budgets and adopt better policies that will boost productivity,
increase incomes and help lift tens of millions Africans out of extreme
poverty.
“We have the best of African talent with us here in Johannesburg – from the
singers and their music to the video producers on this project, the energy
among them is amazing,” added Moyo. “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.”
The collaboration is part of ONE’s Do Agric, It Pays campaign, launched on
29 January in Addis Ababa with civil society partners including the Pan
African Farmers Association (PAFO), ActionAid International, Acord
International, Oxfam, East and Southern African Farmers Forum, ROPPA,
Southern African Confederation of Agriculture Unions, the Africa Union
Commission, Becho Welisho and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA).