5 Ways To Build Bridges
Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa and Greta Thunberg come from different eras, continents and backgrounds and yet they are united by one common bond: The relentless determination to not sit back and allow the present realty define the future story. They stood up, spoke out and most importantly did something! They were not content simply to see what needed to be done, they took responsibility for doing something about it. Whilst other wished, hoped and prayed … they acted. It’s what leaders do … good leaders!
In an ever ageing agricultural world, where due to population explosions the demand for sustainable food production is increasing, there is a growing & urgent need for us to act. 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 30 (*), (743 million of the 1.06 billion people in this region) (**), with 375 million young people in Africa reaching working age by 2030. In addition, by 2050, one out of three young people in the world will be living in sub-Saharan Africa. This provides both a great challenge and a great opportunity. In previous blogs I outlined both the problem of engaging Youth in Agriculture (‘Mind the Gap #1’) & a framework for re-engaging them (‘Mind the Gap #2’). Changing attitudes & perceptions will be neither swift nor easy, but it is possible and necessary. We, like those who have gone before, cannot simply wish, hope or pray … we too must act!
So let me propose 5 ways we could build bridges rather than create divides:
Change the conversation
When a learned experience from school is that punishment means you are sent to the ‘field’ or when the image of agriculture is set alongside a mural on a school wall with drugs and alcohol … for those who ‘drop out’, it’s hardly something to aspire to! So we have to change the message! A career in agriculture needs to be something that is celebrated not commiserated. Food is one the most basic and essential of human needs therefore those providing it are providing a great service to their country / community. What if achievement in class meant reward of ‘time out’ to sow, feed and harvest. What if commendations for producing a great crop of sweet potatoes or an innovative way produce high quality compost was acknowledged as highly as a great essay or sporting achievement? What if schools or communities engaging youth in agriculture and providing not only for their needs, but others were rewarded and invested in for building a sustainable and flourishing community? What if we made parents as proud to see their sons and daughters becoming the new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs as much as those who became doctors or teachers?
2. Educate and inspire
Without mindset change the story stays the same, so before we ever begin to equip youth with the technical skills we must first create a fertile seedbed in which to sow seeds of opportunity and possibility. Mindset & behaviour change cannot be add-on’s or extension services … they have to be essential foundational aspects. That why we talk about our programmes being the ‘thing before the thing’. We must help them to see beyond the reality of their past and re-imagine and rewrite a different more proposers future. Then to inspire we have to change our approach to how we ‘sell’ it in order to trigger a different response. The language of our outer brain (conscious thinking) is words - it’s about logic which leads to conclusions. Whereas the language of our centre brain (subconscious thinking) is pictures - it’s about emotions which lead to action and emotion trumps logic every time! Emotions drive decisions, logic justifies them. Our outer brain is seeking for the what and how, but our centre brain is seeking for WHY. So we must speak to the centre brain & satisfy the outer brain. Answer the why question first … then the what and how become stimulating! We meed to how them what’s on offer, what’s available, what’s possible … don’t tell them (****)
3. Innovation & entrepreneurship
The world is a changing at an ever increasing rate and youth with growing smart phone accessibility to a wider world know that. They also know, through their own tough realities, that repeating what has been done will not provide them with the opportunities they hope for or are offered elsewhere. This other world ‘seduces’ them with the offer of adventure … yet that adventure lies right in the communities they live in. Climate change has transformed the playing field for agriculture with the need to explore and discover new methodology, breeds, varieties and food types. One size no longer fits all and diversity is as important to productivity to span both security and opportunity. Innovation an essential ingredient. Technology is playing an ever increasing part and the opportunity to be a pioneer of this new exciting world needs to be a part of our centre brain engagement.
4. Create pathways, not dead-ends, that lead to tangible hope
Vain promises and glossy advertising campaigns will not be enough to entice or keep youth engaged. As well as leading them into the industry we need to ensure they are given both technical and financial support to ensure they can build a sustainable and flourishing future.
Technical support and inputs need to be available to provide optimum chances to succeed with both improved productivity and increased quality.
Ongoing training and development should be built in to future proof their investments.
Fair prices & fair trade should ensure the producer is valued and honoured
Collaboration across agencies and businesses to prevent multiple compliance boxes that need to be ticked and where we work together for the greater good of everyone.
We cannot nor should not make it easy, but if we pathways to tangible hope will help build the resilience needed to keep going even when it gets tough.
5. Start Young
The earlier we begin, the easier it is to create a new ‘belief’. What if every school had as part of it’s learning curriculum ‘agricultural entrepreneurship’. If we can show children from an early age agriculture is neither something to be ashamed of or afraid of, but instead to be enjoyed and a source of both nutrition and income they will learn to see it’s value. They could then start a small co-operative to sell produce to purchase things for the school that they can enjoy and benefit from. Children as young as 8 in a primary school in Kenya recognised that less than 30% of students were coming to school with food. Their solution - to use the land around their school to create a farm where they can grow food. They got someone to teach them how and took turns to be responsible for nurturing their produce. They sold some to create an income which they used to employ cooks and then the rest was cooked to provide hot meals every day for each student in the school. This moved a whole community to not simply survive but thrive - better nutrition leads to better attention & better achievement.