The Challenge
Kenyan farmers’ reluctance to embrace new farming methods or grow new crops due to economic uncertainty resulted in Kenya’s already depleted soil degrading by a further 30% in 2024. Trapping farmers in a seemingly endless cycle of declining yields and poverty. Blue Band, a brand that has been part of Kenya’s fabric for over a century, thanks in no small part to farmers, wanted to help.
The Solution
Canola, the main ingredient in Blue Band’s flagship product margarine, is known for its soil nourishment properties, a perfect counter to Kenya’s arid soil - but getting farmers to change age-old practices would prove challenging. So, we decided to reach out to them through the next generation – their children. Blue Band’s Good Breakfast Programme, which provides over 30 million school kids with breakfasts and nutritional knowledge was our way in. We introduced a new chapter The Benefits of Canola Farming to the programme’s syllabus, successfully enlightening millions of kids about the benefits of the crop. We built on things with a short film A Seed of Hope, which follows young Amina’s efforts to save her family farm by getting her father to become a Canola grower. The film, which was screened in thousands of schools, made our message resonate with many.