THE FIELD REPORT

TitleTHE FIELD REPORT
BrandINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (IFAD)
Product/ServiceINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (IFAD)
Category A04. Data Storytelling
Entrant WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Media Placement WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
PR WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
James Nester Weber Shandwick ECD
Luke Walker Weber Shandwick Creative Director
Indy Selvarajah Weber Shandwick Creative Director
Brian Tjugum Weber Shandwick Executive Vice President
Bella Davies-Heard Weber Shandwick Associate Director
Laetitia Laporte Weber Shandwick Manager
Scott Jackson Weber Shandwick Executive Producer
Claire Proudfoot Weber Shandwick Senior Creative Producer
David Ranson Weber Shandwick Director of Photography & Editor
Adam Wilkes Weber Shandwick Graphics
Rob Chan Weber Shandwick Graphics
Amber Brown Weber Shandwick Production Coordinator
Tom Casling Weber Shandwick Designer
James Heer International Fund for Agricultural Development Senior Communications Officer and Team Leader
Simona Siad International Fund for Agricultural Development Communications Officer,Campaigns and Branding

The Campaign

To make policy makers truly understand the impact investment in agriculture has and encourage them to prioritise investments in agriculture, we had to speak their language. But investment reports land on policy makers’ desks every day. So, armed with a set of compelling statistics and the help of a team of farmers and villagers from Kasama, Zambia, we set out to make our data impossible to ignore. Sixty local farmers. Two kilometres of measuring twine. Two tonnes of agricultural lime. Two oxen. Three days of hard work. One investment report like no other. The Field Report was a message to policy makers and to the world - carved into the very land that farmers use to feed their communities.

The data revealed by The Field Report has proved vital in helping spark a dialogue with IFADs member governments and mobilize governments and partners to scale up their agricultural investments to reduce poverty and hunger by 2030. Relying entirely on an earned media, the Field Report made the issue of Agriculture Investment a global one, reaching a billion people, with 8.5 thousand earned mentions on social media. Without a paid budget, the film showing making of the Field Report was broadcast to policy makers at multiple high level meetings, including World Food Day and The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) – over 310 targeted airports screenings. And to the public via TV and press, with France24 donating almost a million euros in media and many other broadcasters following suit – from Newsweek to Fast Company. We find out the full impact of The Field Report on December 16th when 176 policymakers and agricultural ministers will come determine financial commitments for investments in agricultural development over the coming years.

Making compelling data and statistics impossible to ignore, this was a global message from the famers and villagers of Kasama, Zambia, to governmental policy makers around the world. Carved into the very earth these farmers use to grow their crops, the message reached to the wider public, helping raise the issue higher up the public agenda by securing pro bono TV, print, outdoor and online media donations alongside coverage across global news media, reaching over a billion people, without paid media budget.

Extensive research unearthed startling data about agriculture and its impact on communities, countries and the world. Statistics that demonstrate the importance of investing in agriculture: 1. Africa has 25% of the world’s arable land – but only 10% of its agricultural output, showing the extraordinary potential that lies in Africa 2. Rural to urban migration – more and more young people are moving away from the land that can feed us all 3. Projections of the world’s population – we will have more mouths to feed than ever before 4. In Sub-Saharan Africa, economic growth from agriculture is up to 11 times more effective at reducing poverty than growth from other sectors – so investment in agriculture offers an exceptional return for a policy maker From this research, a powerful proposition was clear. Agriculture could be the world’s most vital investment. We just needed to communicate this in a way that was impossible to ignore.