The Task

As I get into Day 2, I have enough information and background to be dangerous.  We have all heard in one forum or another that the world population is outpacing the natural resources available on the planet and that, unless new strategies are put in place very soon, we will be faced with a world food shortage by the end of my generation.  There are many factors that are believed to contribute to this situation:  climate change, rising populations, soil degradation, water scarcity, energy shortages.... The list goes on.  The good news is that VECO, a few other NGOs and academic institutions have concluded that the best solution to this problem is to assist in the development of sustainable, small farming operations around the world.  What this means in practice is that VECO teams use dialogue, networking and negotiation skills to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships between small farmers, food distributors, transportation companies, food manufacturers and retailers.  As you can imagine, creating a mutually beneficial solution for all of these parties across a sustainable field to market supply chain can be a bit of a daunting task but VECO perseveres and has several success stories to prove that it is possible.  They are currently working small-holder farming programs in Indonesia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, Benin and Niger.

http://www.veco-ngo.org/blog/canned-asparagus-peru-finds-its-way-belgian-supermarket-chain-colruyt

My challenge:  Tell major food manufacturers in Belgium the scarcity of resources story in a way that makes it relevant to them and (hopefully) inspires them to lend some financial support to VECO.  In a fun, marketing way.  In one sentence or less.  That is compelling.  And cranks the flywheel (that's for you, Craig).  Wait till I introduce the VECO communications team to the leaky bucket and mental availability!!! :)