‘Can you dig it?’ Africa reality show draws youth to farming

‘Can you dig it?’ New farming reality TV show aims to bring young Africans back to the land

By TOM ODULA

Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — As a student, Leah Wangari imagined a glamorous life as a globe-trotting flight attendant, not toiling in dirt and manure.

Born and raised in Kenya’s skyscraper-filled capital, Nairobi, the 28-year-old said farming had been the last thing on her mind. The decision to drop agriculture classes haunted her later, when her efforts in agribusiness investing while running a fashion venture failed.

In this Jan. 17, 2018 photo, former reality show contestant Leah Wangari inspects the mushrooms she is growing in her small mud hut in Kiambu, near the capital Nairobi, in Kenya. An unusual new reality TV show backed by the U.S. government is the first of its kind in Africa, training young adults from Kenya and neighboring Tanzania in farming and giving them plots to cultivate, with a $10,000 prize for the most productive. Sayyid Abdul Azim AP PhotoRead more here: http://www.thestate.com/

Clueless, she made her way to an unusual new reality TV show, the first of its kind in Africa. “Don’t Lose the Plot,” backed by the U.S. government, trains contestants from Kenya and neighboring Tanzania and gives them plots to cultivate, with a prize worth $10,000 for the most productive. The goal: Prove to young people that agriculture can be fun and profitable.

“Being in reality TV was like the best feeling ever, like a dream come true for me,” Wangari said. But she found it exhausting. As callouses built up on her hands, her friends made bets that she wouldn’t succeed.READ MORE

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