Population growth shows no sign of slowing down. By 2050 there will be more than 9 billion people living on Earth – 2 billion more mouths to feed than there are today. Add to that a number of global crises, including famine and displacement which are stretching the world’s resources. Smart governmental investments in sectors and programs that will alleviate global poverty and hunger are more critical than ever before.

So IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) had a clear and urgent brief: put investment in agriculture higher up policy makers’ agendas. We needed to raise awareness about the vital importance of agriculture by directly targeting high-level policy makers and government donors, while securing global broadcast media to push the issue higher up the public agenda.

We needed to send a big, convincing message to Government policy makers that Agricultural communities are the world's most vital investment.

Data compiled by IFAD, The International Fund for Agricultural Development, outlined some persuasive numbers.

So armed with these statistics – and the help of a group of farmers and villagers from Kasama, Zambia – we set out to tell the world.

60 local farmers, 2km of measuring twine, 2 tonnes of agricultural lime, 2 oxen, 3 days of hard work, 1 investment report... like no other.

Carved into the very land that farmers use to feed their communities. A message to policy makers and to the world that secured global coverage.

The hard work of the farmers became our media assets. A one minute film, a press ad detailing the key stats and a webpage where you can explore the data further.

From July 2017, the execution plan was two-pronged. We looked to secure the use of pro-bono placement of our creative assets in global media while selling in the story behind the Field Report as well as the findings within the report itself.

We focussed on touch-points that would influence our target audience: through pro bono placements on TV broadcast, print and digital news publishers, social media channels outdoor advertising, and high-level policy events – even targeting the very airport departure gates where government officials arrive for events.

The implementation strategy began in June 2017 through to November 2017.