Got Millet? How Marketing Could Improve the Lives of African Farmers | Zoë Karl-Waithaka | TED

Summary

This talk explores how marketing can revolutionize the lives of African farmers by creating demand for their produce. It draws parallels with successful US campaigns, such as the 'got milk?' slogan and the Super Bowl avocado ads, to argue for targeted marketing and government support to boost consumption of African-grown foods. The speaker advocates for a shift towards promoting nutritious and sustainable foods, like millet, to improve farmer livelihoods, consumer health, and environmental sustainability.

Takeaways

• 🥑 Avocados have become a trendy and expensive food item in the US, largely due to successful marketing campaigns.
• 📈 The power of marketing can transform a product's image and demand, as seen with avocados shifting from 'alligator pears' to a superfood.
• 🌐 The development community should focus on both supply and demand when supporting farmers, with marketing playing a crucial role in creating demand.
• 💡 Marketing campaigns, when well-executed, can significantly boost farmers' incomes and improve their livelihoods.
• 🌱 In Africa, agriculture is a major part of the economy, and smallholder farmers often struggle due to limited market access and low demand for their products.
• 💼 The international development community has traditionally focused on the supply side, but there is a growing recognition of the need to also shape and grow markets.
• 🥛 Examples like the 'got milk?' campaign show how industry and government collaboration can create long-term consumer habits and stable markets for farmers.
• 🏫 School meal programs can be an effective way to introduce children to new foods, creating future consumers and stable demand.
• 🌎 Marketing can create demand beyond domestic borders, as seen with the success of Mexican avocado exports to the US.
• 🥬 The concept of 'superfoods' is largely a result of marketing, which can be leveraged to promote nutritious and sustainable food options.
• 🚨 A cautionary note that marketing should promote healthy and sustainable food choices to avoid over-promotion of unhealthy options.

Q & A

Why did avocados become popular in the United States?

Avocados became popular in the United States due to a successful marketing campaign in the 1990s funded by Californian avocado farmers. This campaign included NFL players sharing their favorite guacamole recipes during the Super Bowl, which helped avocados transition from relative obscurity to being one of the most consumed fruits.

What role did the development community play in the avocado marketing campaign?

The development community, including NGOs, philanthropists, and international development agencies, did not directly participate in the avocado marketing campaign. However, the speaker suggests that they can learn from this example to use marketing to positively impact society, the economy, and the environment in Africa.

How does the speaker propose to improve the livelihoods of African farmers?

The speaker suggests that the development community should increase funding for demand-side interventions, such as marketing campaigns, in addition to supply-side support like seeds and fertilizers. This would help African farmers to sell their products more effectively and increase their incomes.

What is the significance of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa's economy?

Agriculture is a significant part of sub-Saharan Africa's economy, making up about 20 percent of the GDP and accounting for approximately 60 percent of employment. Many of the people involved in agriculture are smallholders living on less than two hectares of land.

Why are many African farmers still poor despite development efforts?

Many African farmers are still poor because development efforts have primarily focused on the supply side, such as providing seeds and fertilizers to increase productivity. However, there is a need for demand-side interventions to ensure there is a market for the goods they produce.

How does the 'got milk?' campaign exemplify the power of marketing?

The 'got milk?' campaign, funded by American dairy farmers, is an example of how marketing can create a whole category of consumers and ensure a constant market for farmers' products. It demonstrates the effectiveness of industry marketing and government support in promoting consumption.

What is the impact of the National School Milk Program on dairy consumption in the United States?

The National School Milk Program in the United States has contributed to one of the highest rates of dairy consumption in the world, with 653 pounds of dairy consumed per person per year. This program helps create a consistent demand for dairy products.

How does marketing create demand beyond borders?

Marketing can create demand beyond borders by promoting products like avocados from Mexico during events like the Super Bowl, which helps increase exports and provides farmers with a larger market for their goods.

What are the three key recommendations the speaker gives to improve the livelihoods of farmers?

The speaker recommends that the development community should increase funding for demand-side marketing, governments should use their budgets to ensure constant demand, and farmers should work together to support their common interests through joint marketing campaigns.

Why is it important to promote nutritious and environmentally sustainable foods?

Promoting nutritious and environmentally sustainable foods can lead to a triple play of benefits: increased farmer livelihoods, more nutritious foods for consumers, and more sustainable agriculture practices.

How does the speaker suggest Africa can do things differently and better in its development trajectory?

The speaker suggests that Africa can use marketing and a demand-led approach to boost economic growth, reduce diet-related diseases, and adapt to climate change challenges, potentially leading to better outcomes than other markets.

Outlines

00:00

🥑 The Power of Marketing in Agriculture

This paragraph discusses the significant role of marketing in shaping consumer preferences and boosting agricultural products' demand. It begins with a humorous take on the popularity of avocados in the US, highlighting the absurdity of paying high prices for something as simple as mashed avocado. The speaker then delves into the history of avocado marketing, particularly the successful 1990s Super Bowl campaign by Californian avocado farmers that transformed avocados from an obscure fruit to a widely consumed one. The paragraph transitions into a discussion on how marketing can be leveraged to improve the livelihoods of African farmers. The speaker, identifying as both South African and American, shares insights from their experience working in African agriculture and development programs. The challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Africa are outlined, emphasizing the need for demand-side solutions in addition to supply-side interventions. The speaker argues for a more proactive approach in shaping and growing markets for African agricultural products, suggesting that development agencies should provide not only seeds and fertilizers but also 'advertising geniuses' to help farmers.

05:01

🥛 Marketing's Impact on Dairy and Avocado Consumption

The second paragraph illustrates the impact of marketing on consumer behavior using the examples of dairy and avocados. It discusses the 'got milk?' campaign funded by American dairy farmers, which was part of a broader industry effort to promote milk consumption. The speaker notes the collaboration between companies and government initiatives, such as the National School Lunch Program, which has historically subsidized milk, creating a constant market for dairy farmers. The success of such campaigns has led to the US having one of the highest dairy consumption rates globally. The paragraph also touches on similar initiatives in Kenya, which adopted a National School Milk Program, leading to an increased local dairy consumption and a more developed dairy industry. The speaker then extends the discussion to international marketing, using the 'Avocados from Mexico' campaign as an example of how marketing can create demand beyond domestic borders, significantly benefiting Mexican avocado farmers. The paragraph concludes by suggesting that marketing can be used to promote not just any food but specifically nutritious and environmentally friendly options.

10:01

🌾 Promoting Sustainable and Nutritious Agriculture in Africa

In the final paragraph, the speaker advocates for a demand-led approach to agricultural development in Africa, emphasizing the potential for the continent to adopt innovative and sustainable practices. The speaker suggests three key actions: increasing funding for demand-side marketing campaigns, ensuring constant demand through government procurement policies, and encouraging farmers to collaborate on marketing efforts. The paragraph warns of the potential downsides of marketing, particularly if it promotes unhealthy foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. Instead, the speaker proposes using marketing to promote nutritious and environmentally sustainable foods, such as millet, which requires less water and is more drought-resistant than rice. The speaker envisions a 'triple play' of benefits: improved farmer livelihoods, healthier food options for consumers, and more sustainable agricultural practices. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for Africa to leverage marketing to boost economic growth, improve public health, and combat climate change, using millet as a symbol of the potential for change.

Keywords

💡Avocados

Avocados are a type of fruit that have become highly popular, particularly in the United States, as highlighted in the script where people are willing to pay high prices for avocado toast. The speaker uses avocados as an example of how marketing can transform a simple food item into a desirable product. The avocado's journey from being an obscure fruit to a trendy, high-priced delicacy illustrates the power of marketing campaigns, such as the Super Bowl ads featuring NFL players and their guacamole recipes.

💡Marketing

Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services, which is central to the video's theme. The speaker discusses how effective marketing campaigns, like the one that turned avocados into a popular food item, can significantly increase demand and, consequently, the livelihoods of farmers. The script provides examples of marketing's impact, such as the 'got milk?' campaign and the avocado industry's Super Bowl ads, emphasizing marketing's role in shaping consumer preferences and creating markets.

💡Supply and Demand

Supply and demand are economic concepts that refer to the relationship between the quantity of a product that producers are willing to supply and the quantity that consumers are willing to purchase. In the context of the video, the speaker points out that while the development community has focused on the supply side by providing seeds and fertilizers to farmers, there is a need to also stimulate demand for their products. The speaker argues for a balance between increasing supply through productivity improvements and creating demand through marketing.

💡Development Community

The development community refers to a group of organizations and individuals, including NGOs, philanthropists, and international development agencies, that work towards improving living conditions in developing regions. The video emphasizes the role this community can play in supporting farmers by funding marketing campaigns that create demand for their products. This is in contrast to their traditional focus on supply-side interventions like providing agricultural inputs.

💡Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the African continent that lies below the Sahara Desert. The script mentions this region to highlight the importance of agriculture to its economy, where it constitutes a significant portion of GDP and employment. The speaker uses this context to discuss the challenges faced by smallholder farmers and the potential for marketing to improve their livelihoods.

💡Smallholder Farmers

Smallholder farmers are individuals who own and cultivate small plots of land, typically less than two hectares. The video discusses the plight of these farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, who often live near or below the poverty line due to low incomes from their small-scale farming operations. The speaker suggests that marketing can play a crucial role in enhancing their market access and, consequently, their incomes.

💡Guacamole

Guacamole is a dip made from mashed avocados, traditionally served in Mexican cuisine. In the video, guacamole is mentioned as part of the avocado marketing campaign during the 1990s Super Bowl, where NFL players shared their favorite recipes. This campaign is used as an example of how a targeted marketing strategy can transform an obscure food item into a widely consumed product, thereby benefiting the farmers who grow the key ingredient, avocados.

💡Dairy Industry

The dairy industry involves the production and processing of milk and milk-derived products. The script uses the 'got milk?' campaign as an example of how industry-wide marketing efforts, funded by dairy farmers, can create a constant demand for dairy products. This campaign, along with government support like school milk programs, has contributed to the high consumption rates of dairy in the United States.

💡Superfood

Superfoods are foods that are nutrient-rich and considered beneficial for health, often due to their high content of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The video mentions superfoods like kale, pomegranate, and blueberries, which have gained popularity partly due to marketing efforts that highlight their health benefits. This illustrates how marketing can influence consumer choices and create demand for specific food products.

💡Millet

Millet is a type of grain that is more nutritious, requires less water to grow, and is more environmentally sustainable compared to rice. In the video, millet is presented as an alternative to rice that could benefit both farmers and consumers. The speaker suggests that marketing can be used to promote millet and other similar crops, potentially leading to healthier diets and more sustainable agricultural practices.

Highlights

Americans' love for avocados has led to high-priced avocado toast becoming a trend.

Historically, avocados were not popular and were known as 'alligator pears'.

A 1990s Super Bowl marketing campaign by Californian avocado farmers helped popularize avocados.

Marketing can be a catalyst for improving farmers' livelihoods, especially in Africa.

Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 20% of GDP and 60% of employment.

Many African farmers live on less than two hectares of land and are near or below the poverty line.

Development efforts have focused on supply-side support for farmers, but demand is also crucial.

The international development community is increasingly helping farmers link to markets.

The 'got milk?' campaign is an example of industry collaboration in marketing.

Government support, like school lunch programs, can help create consistent demand for agricultural products.

Kenya's National School Milk Program increased local dairy consumption and industry development.

Marketing can create demand beyond borders, as seen with 'Avocados from Mexico' during the Super Bowl.

The concept of 'superfoods' is a marketing strategy that has increased the consumption of certain fruits and vegetables.

Development community should fund marketing campaigns to help African farmers sell their products.

Governments can use their budgets to ensure constant demand for agricultural products.

Farmers should collaborate to fund marketing campaigns and promote their products.

Marketing can promote not only sales but also nutritious and environmentally friendly foods.

Millet is a more nutritious and sustainable alternative to rice that could be promoted through marketing.

Africa has the opportunity to use marketing and a demand-led approach to boost economic growth and sustainable agriculture.

Transcripts

Avocados.

Americans love them.

For what other food would you pay 15 dollars

to have someone bring it to your table and mash it up in front of you?

There's probably a hipster in Brooklyn right now

ordering a 15-dollar avocado toast as we speak.

And that's on the cheap side.

Give me, like, 25 dollars.

I mean, that's insanity, honestly.

So I have a question.

Why would people pay seemingly absurd prices for something so simple?

Marketing.

There was probably a time in the US

when you couldn't pay people to eat avocados

and actually they were known as “alligator pears”.

And then something changed.

In the 1990s,

there was a Super Bowl marketing campaign

where NFL players shared their favorite guacamole recipes.

With the help of this, over time,

avocados went from a relative obscurity in the US

to one of the most consumed fruits.

Now what’s interesting about this is who was behind the campaign:

Californian avocado farmers.

They had a product,

they funded a highly visible and successful marketing campaign,

put money in their pockets and ultimately changed the way people eat.

So today I want to talk to you about how marketing can be a catalyst

to improve the livelihoods of farmers,

but not in the US, in Africa.

And how the development community,

and by that, I mean NGOs, philanthropists

and international development agencies

can use marketing to positively impact society,

the economy and the environment.

So I am South African and American,

I have lived and worked throughout Africa

with a professional focus on food and agriculture.

And I've had the opportunity to study lots of development programs

and even work on some myself.

And through that I have met farmers,

spoken to them, and some of them have said,

"I have a product,

but I don't have a market in which to sell it."

Or, "I have a market, but it's too small."

So I want to talk about how to change that.

Now, just a reminder, Africa is a continent, not a country.

And in sub-Saharan Africa,

agriculture makes up a large part of the economy.

It makes up 20 percent of GDP,

about 60 percent of employment,

and many of the people in agriculture are smallholders.

So they live on less than two hectares of land

and have very small incomes that put them at or below the poverty line.

For decades, the development community has been trying to change this,

primarily with a supply side-focus of working with farmers,

giving them access to seeds and fertilizers,

showing them how to improve their productivity

so that they could grow more,

have more to sell and eat

and ultimately increase their incomes,

which is the end goal.

Billions of dollars have been spent on this.

And unfortunately, today, many African farmers are still poor.

So why is that?

Well, farmers are part of the equation.

They supply food, but obviously we know the other part of the equation is demand.

They need to have demand for the goods that they're growing.

And it's true that the international development community

is increasingly linking farmers to markets

so that they have places to sell what they grow.

And that's good.

But they need to go a step further,

by proactively helping to shape and grow markets

for goods grown by African farmers.

So in other words,

in addition to sending seeds and fertilizer,

they need to send them advertising geniuses.

So I'm going to share a couple of examples

of the type of impact marketing can have.

And I’m going to refer to the US a lot,

and that's because the US knows how to do this really well.

Maybe a little too well, some might argue,

but that's not the topic of the talk today.

So this is the slogan

of arguably one of the most iconic ad campaigns of all time.

[got milk?]

Funded by American dairy farmers.

What's very interesting about dairy in the US

is that companies don't leave it up to individual businesses

to market their brands.

They actually work together as an industry to promote milk drinking.

And they do this by, you know,

many companies contributing to a common fund

that goes towards campaigns like this.

Now they have a little help from government also.

How many of you went to school and got milk on your tray?

In many instances, that milk was subsidized.

Actually the National School Lunch Program dates back to the 1940s,

and it's still ongoing today.

You go to school, you taste something, it's at a good price,

you keep getting it, you like it, maybe you start eating more of it.

You purchase at home, stock your fridge.

Does that sound anything like product promotion and sampling?

Importantly, what this does is it creates a whole category of consumers.

And it gives farmers a constant market in which to sell what they grow,

and that's actually really important, right?

You can't create a product

if you don't know that there's going to be constant demand for it in the market.

Now this combination of industry marketing plus government support

is quite powerful.

So powerful, in fact, that the United States

has one of the highest rates of consumption of dairy in the world:

653 pounds of dairy per person per year.

Try to imagine that.

That's a lot, right?

Now, this has actually been done outside of the US, too.

In Kenya in the 1980s under former president Moi,

there was a National School Milk Program,

dubbed Nyayo Milk,

and many Kenyan children went to school and received packets of milk.

So it became a lot more a part of the local diet.

And as they grew up, they continued to consume it.

And today, Kenya has the highest rate of consumption of dairy

in East Africa.

And it's got a much more developed dairy industry

than its regional neighbors.

Now, both of those examples are about marketing to domestic consumers.

But you're probably thinking,

"Well, what about, you know,

in countries where there's lower purchasing power?"

You can use marketing to create demand beyond borders as well.

If you've ever watched the Super Bowl,

and I never thought I'd talk so much about the Super Bowl

because I kind of don't watch it.

But if you have ever watched the Super Bowl

and you’ve heard this jingle “Avocados from Mexico” --

and you kind of have to dance when you sing it

because it’s just so catchy, honestly --

if you’ve heard that jingle,

then you've been marketed to by the Mexican avocado industry.

Mexico exports 2.5 billion dollars worth of avocados to the US every year.

That's obviously a lot of avocados

and a lot of money going to Mexican avocado farmers.

And Kenya exports avocados, too, but not that much.

So, you know, this is all about how they can do that.

Now I've talked about milk, avocados,

but how many of you eat kale or pomegranate or blueberries

because you've heard that they're superfoods

packed full of antioxidants?

That's marketing.

So how do we take these examples that I've talked about

and use them to improve the livelihoods of farmers?

Three things.

First, development community.

Increase funding for demand in addition to supply.

So in addition to funding farmers to grow food,

donors need to fund world-class marketing campaigns

that help farmers to sell food.

This should be done at local, regional and international levels,

helping to promote the foods grown by African farmers

and create trade within Africa,

but also outside African borders

with consumers in wealthier countries.

Second, governments.

Use your budgets to ensure constant pools of demand.

As one of the largest procurers for schools,

hospitals and other government facilities,

governments can use their budgets

to ensure that farmers have constant marketplaces

in which to sell what they grow.

It can be done, as we've seen in Kenya.

And then third.

Farmers, work together to support your common interests.

By jointly funding marketing campaigns through industry bodies and cooperatives,

farmers can promote what they grow,

put money in their pockets and ultimately change their lives,

which is the end goal.

Warning, big warning in case anyone was losing me.

(Laughter)

Marketing can be a force for good, but it can go too far,

especially if it's used to promote foods that are full of fat, salt and sugar.

So what if, in addition to everything I've said,

we not only use marketing to promote foods grown by African farmers

but we use it to promote foods that are more nutritious

and also better for the environment.

If we do that,

then we've got the triple play of agriculture development:

increased farmer livelihoods,

more nutritious foods for consumers

and more sustainable agriculture.

So I'll give one last example using rice.

Rice is a staple crop,

and in many countries it is consumed as a large part of diets.

However, white rice in particular is low in nutrients,

it takes lots of water to grow,

and current techniques for growing rice

are contributing to a lot of greenhouse gas emissions.

So what if we replace rice with millet?

Millet is a grain just like rice.

It is rich in fiber and antioxidants.

It has more calcium than milk per serving.

It takes 70 percent less water to grow,

and it is drought- and pest-resistant,

which is increasingly important in today's world.

Sounds like a good alternative, right?

Well, there are lots of other foods like this

that are both more nutritious

and more sustainable for the environment,

such as pumpkin leaves, sweet potatoes,

lentils, moringa and many others.

So we need to promote these foods,

develop tasty and affordable recipes with them,

and importantly, get celebrity chefs on board.

Because at the end of the day,

people need to want to eat these foods,

not be told they have to.

So I'll leave you with this.

Africa is still relatively early in its development trajectory

versus other markets,

and it has the opportunity to do things differently and better.

By using marketing and a demand-led approach,

Africa can boost economic growth,

reduce incidences of diet-related diseases

and adapt to the challenges of climate change.

Got millet?

(Laughter and applause)

Thank you.