Action: 46. Time: 20 minutes. Level of difficulty: Moderate
This week’s ONE Act is short, simple and to the point: Pitch us an essay idea on why you think the US should invest in farming and agriculture in Africa.
Then, at the end of the week, we’ll send our top 5 pitches to agriculture policy expert Roger Thurow, who just authored a book called The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change. If anyone knows how to write an essay on agriculture, it’s him — so having him as the judge of our contest is a great honor. He will choose the best pitch, and that person will get to submit a full essay to ONE for us to publish on our blog.
Feel free to cite personal experiences (maybe you worked on a farm for the summer, or watched a cool documentary); first-hand accounts (maybe you met a small farmer in Ghana); or even just your inspirations (maybe you love the work of African environmental activist Wangari Matthai). Here are some helpful links to get you started:
-Excerpts from The Last Hunger Season
-Our agriculture report, “Food. Farming. Future. Breaking the Cycle of Malnutrition and Poverty”
-Inspiring stories from real small farmers across Africa
Using the form below, write two or three sentences with your essay pitch.
The contest ends on Friday, June 15, and the winner will be chosen by Monday, June 18 — so act fast! As an added bonus, Roger will send the winner of the contest an autographed copy of his new book.
Thank you to all who participated in last week’s ONE Act. Thanks to the activist community, including ONE members, (RED) was able to raise $250,000 toward the Global Fund’s HIV/AIDS projects in the world’s poorest places.
