 If you had the chance to change one thing in Africa, what would it be? The mindsets of the African people about agriculture. Agriculture is not only about farming. Agriculture is about food production, value addition, retail and marketing, storage and waste management. The value chain is long. Many times people see farming as a punishment, so they see agriculture as a punishment. Because right from school, many times we do something but the teacher or our tutor says go and take a hold and start with it. So we've all grown up to think that the agriculture sector is not a place for the youth. But trust me, agriculture provides more than 25% of the continent's GDP. In fact, more than half of the Africa workforce is employed by the agriculture sector. And that means that Africa is capable of feeding itself and feeding the world. If someone ever told me that there's going to be a farmer who intentionally grows this crop, I would say that you're a liar. Because this used to be our football when we were growing up. My name is Melissa Adoboy, deputy CEO of Achiever Foods Ltd. Achiever Foods Ltd is an award-winning company. Achiever Foods Ltd is on a mission to save lives through organically grown turkeyberry fruits that we process and add value to them into teas, juices, cereal mixed powders and jam spreads. What keeps you moving? The motivation and the passion to see that people eat healthy diets, eat healthy foods. The fact that we are creating jobs, improving the livelihoods of people and contributing to food security and especially a shared African prosperity. That is really what keeps me moving. What an exciting time to be alive. I feel super excited whenever I see Africans embracing value addition. The time of exporting raw materials are over. And you're an African listening to me. Can you just raise your hands and say hallelujah? I've known this all my life. I've used this all my life. This is what my mom taught me that in case I need blood in my body, this is what I need to use. But never did I know that you can actually add value to this to have a turkeyberry tea. Never did I know that you can have a whole turkeyberry mix with honey and ginger. What an exciting time to be an African. The revolution is happening and I'm telling each and every African it's about time. You get involved. We are not leaving any African behind. We are no longer exporting raw materials. We are adding value to our raw materials right here in Africa to boost the agriculture sector, to create more jobs in Africa for us to use that money that comes from value addition to develop Africa. And what makes me more happy to do this story is the fact that this was done by a young woman. I mean when you give women the chance they know how to take care of things. But the fact that she's young, it means that young Africans are taking control of their own narrative. They are changing their narrative that agriculture is not for young people. Listen, I'm so excited to talk to this young lady. And I know you are also excited. Africa is the future and we are the future of Africa. Hi, hi Willie. Welcome. Thank you. Have you been waiting for me for a very long time? Yes, to the Daliha world. Do you know why I'm here? Tell me. I'm here to celebrate you. Because I feel like you deserve to be celebrated. I've known this all my life, but I never knew that I can get tea out of it. Yes. Value addition. Value addition, yes it is. Enough of Africans exporting raw materials. Yes, because Africa is still the net importer of agricultural products. But every year we spend over 50 billion dollars in importing foods. And you are changing that narrative in your own way? Yes, we are. And that is why I'm here to celebrate you. Wow, thank you. I was born in Takrati. Okay. And I came to Akra to Hassan. Really? Because this is the land of Hassless. Did you get this idea from school? This whole value addition that you're doing in here, you got it from K and USD? Value addition, yes. But turning this into teas, jams, juices, powders, it was another level of idea. Listen, we are living in a country that right after school, it's hard to get a job. Yes. And our education system does not encourage us to create our own business. Yes. Then which means that as soon as you got out of school, you started your own business. You learned food science because you're doing something that is related to what you learned in school. No, I searched for jobs. Just like you said, the educational system doesn't support entrepreneurship. They give you the mindset that finish school, go get a job, sit in an AC and just have a good time. No, and get married. You see, so I also followed that terrain. I struggled to get a job sincerely. And then finally, I just had no way out to hustle. Did you get a job? I still didn't get a job. I had to go through Madina, selling on the streets. So you mean after having a degree? Yeah, in food science. In food science, doing your national service? Yes. You end up selling perfumes? Imported perfumes from China. Because I struggled to get a job. You struggled to get a job? Yes. That was when I realized unemployment in Africa is real. I am a victim of it. I went to many organizations applied for jobs I didn't get a job. I needed to make a living because many times I go to bed hungry. I wake up in the morning, I can't even buy a sanitary pad. And I'm a woman. Was that a guarantee that when you come here in the morning, somebody will come and buy from you? Was that a guarantee that you go home selling one thing in a day? I just wanted to give it a try. That was a risk I took because I needed to get on the road and make a living. I needed to make something out of my life. In fact, many times when I sell here, I see my other colleagues working in their suits and asking me, Millicent, why I didn't get a job? I told them no, I didn't get a job. And this was what I was doing. Sometimes when I come to sell these perfumes, I make as low as 10 CD a day. There were days that I didn't even sell anything and I had to borrow money for transport home. So unemployment is real. The youth we are suffering in Africa. My mom would be so happy if I gave her this as a gift. But I never knew. People are growing this in Ghana. Yeah. Yeah, they are. When we are. We are? Yes. Why take it berries? So in 2020, I almost died due to ion deficiency anemia. You almost died? Yeah. This malnutrition disease compelled me to quit my job. And one day I was just at work and I had a blackout. And the next time I saw myself on a hospital bed, then I woke up and asked the doctor, what am I doing here? I'm supposed to be at work. They said you were rushed here a few minutes ago because you had a blackout. I said, what blackout? Then when they checked my blood level, it was as low as 4.3 on a scale of 15. The first day, they got blood transfusions. In fact, at the time they admitted me at the hospital, there was no blood in the blood bank. And that was where the whole thing started. I said, Lord, am I going to die of ion deficiency anemia? They did blood transfusions upon transfusions. I was not still recovering. Then one morning I would say it was an angel. One doctor walked to my bed and then he said, lady, I know other women who have died of this ion deficiency anemia, this malnutrition. Their blood was as low as 7, 8. They died. If yours is 4.3, I cannot show you. You will not see the sunrise tomorrow. I said, doctor, what do I do? And the doctor said, there is this crop called tachyberis. In Ghana, they call it abedri. Some call it kuyun suswa. In fact, some call it akosia gidigidi. When he said he was like gidigida, I said, I don't know about it. My husband went to the street, the market, looking for this tachyberis. When he got to the market, he saw that the market men had laid it on the floor in clusters. We were selling it for 50 persons, one CD. Then he bought it in this form, just like this. Yeah, just like that. Took it boom, washed it, blended it into juice, into powders, and then I started adding it to my meals. Within two weeks, from 4.3, my blood increased to 10.3. Wow. I said, whoa! Wait a minute, before you continue. So I guess Insaman Traba brought you back from the ghost world because this is what we call it there. It did? No, it's not. Truly, this is Insaman Traba. Yes. Whoever discovered this name was in the spirit. I think it's a lot of people from Tacharadi, man. After I left the hospital, I told my husband, I'm going to quit my job and I'm going to embark on a campaign against malnutrition. Hence, value addition to Turkeyberry. Value addition to Turkeyberry. Do you have your own farm? We don't own the farms. We partner with the smallholder farmers. So they own the farms and then we train them on how to grow it, how to nest it, how to transplant, and then they grow it for us and then we provide a ready market for their farm produce. So Insaman Traba works for you? Yeah. And what do we do? We work for a company. And who is the first company that you work for? They sell our market. So you tell them to buy and sell their products We sell our companies. Companies? Yes. So the company that you work for, what are your tesla and cane? I'm from Aster. You're from Aster. Yes. You're from Ouroku? No, we're here for tea as well. How much do we need? We'll buy the market. We'll sell the market. But we can't shop. So we have to buy the market. We'll have to sell the market in a small amount. So we will have to sell our products for two weeks. Two weeks? Yes, two weeks. How much does it cost? It costs a lot. We have to buy the products. We'll buy the products. That's all. That's the price we need. What do you want to buy? This is why I'm saying that the government need to support smallholder farmers, not just the government because I believe that the government cannot do everything but individuals who have made it in life, you know, we need to come up with something that support people like this. I mean, if we have something like water mire support for smallholder farmers, I think it's going to make sense so that we can be able to, I mean, buy them equipment that they need so that they can feed us because everybody depend on the farmer. I don't know who doesn't depend on the farmer. Let me tell you the challenges we had when we started. What are some of the challenges? These women farmers are used to growing staple crops like maize, sogoong because there's ready market for these crops. When we told them about turkey berries, they said, for turkey berries, we just find it in the backyard, in the bush. They grow on themselves. No one grows them. I said, no, you know what? We've added value to it. If you grow this for us, we'll provide ready market for the farm produce and it will improve your income levels and your livelihoods. And some of them said, no, we don't believe in this. We will not do it. So we found two farmers. In fact, initially we tried to get a land and we couldn't assess land. There was another one we got that was just too expensive and we're now starting a small business. We don't have funds to purchase a land. So we found two women who said, okay, we believe in this vision. We know that once you have promised that you provide a ready market for our farm produce, we'll give it a try. So we started with these two small older farmers and the good news is anytime they grow the fruits, we uptake it and then we process it. And then you know what we do? We began to invest in them. We train them. We provide them with farm inputs, like fertilizers. We also give them certain tools, well-intended boots, overalls and all that. And that was how the journey was with the farmers. You know, there is a saying that seeing is believing. Yeah. I got my Insaman Trava, they call it techie berries? Yes. No, no, no, no. They call it berries. Yeah. I got it right here. And I really want to know how you transform this into tea. Is this your factory? Yes. Actually, we started from the kitchen. Yes. So this is where we actually started the whole Daliha production of the food products. Let me say the first factory of producing our Daliha food products. So usually we do the fruits. We do the packaging of the teas here. I sit here and I do the packaging of the teas. And then when we are done, we move on to sealing it with the iron. We have to do this because we need the product to be safe. After this is done, we pack it nicely and we close it. And then we put them on these shelves. Sometimes you can just put them here. So this is the second stage of our transformation. Everything you are seeing here started from the kitchen from our home. How long have you been doing this? Five years. In fact, we just celebrated our fifth anniversary last week. That's incredible. Yeah. How many people have you employed so far? 16 youth. 16 youths? Mm-hmm. Working for you. Mm-hmm. Paying them every month. You know, when I went to the farm, I saw the joy on the farmers' faces knowing that as soon as they harvest their produce, you come and buy from them. Yes. You are empowering your own people. Yes. And in here, you are also employing. Yes. Creating jobs. You are amazing. Improving livelihoods. You are amazing. So, you know, I told you we have created jobs for 16 youth. Mm-hmm. Ten of them are permanent workers and six of them are casual workers. Okay. So usually with the casual workers, when we have fruits from the farms, they come and then they do the stemming of the fruits. So today we have such of the stemming going on. Okay. Since you said you wanted to know how we produce their laluihattis. Exactly. Hi. So I'm going to. More techie berries. More abedru. So what you are seeing is the stemming. Usually the machine that processes this cannot uptake the fruits with the stems. So they will have to stem it so that it's able to go through the tunnel very well. And this is a very critical state. If you don't do this, it will affect the efficiency of the process. But you see, the issue is that what they are doing with their hands now, a machine can actually do this. But for now, we are using our hands to do it. That is the biggest challenge being a startup in Africa. But don't worry, after this video, I know a lot of people will buy it, the product, and then you have more money. But please give me my commission. I will. Where do we go from here? So right from here. So usually after this, they wash it, they wash them in bowl. So you see the pipe over there. They do the washing there. Even with the washing, so a machine can do it. But for now, we wash it manually. Yes. And that is why the money has to come definitely. This is our tea production room. When we dry the fruits, that is the turkey berries. We have to process it in this room. But usually before we go into the tea production, we have to sanitize our feet from any impurities and bacteria. So just watch what I'm going to do. You step in here, you sanitize, you open, and then you come in. Like that? Yeah. And then this. All right. So this is the machine that does all the magic? Yes please. So this is our tea packing machine. We actually took a loan to get this tea packing machine. Because initially we were using our hands to package the tea. But then after some time, when the demand for our Daliha food products was increasing, we decided to get a loan so that we could purchase the tea packing machine and then process it. So right now you guys are packaging it? Yes. So we are packaging the tea. So when we pour the dry fruits that mix in here, then the tea packs it. Then it comes out and then they pack it into their pouches. So every pouch takes 20 tea bags. Yeah. I hope you can see this on the market. Yeah. So when we are done, we seal it and then we take it to the market to sell. So when it's dry, this is how it is. So you use an oven to dry it up? Yes. We use an oven to dry it. And it retains all the nutrients, the iron, the vitamins, the antioxidants. So the customer gets the full nutrients to improve their nutrition. And then from here we move it to the sealing machine where it actually seals. Now with this sealing, we used to use an iron, but now we have a sealing machine. When you started in your house? Yes. When we started in our house, we were using an iron. And let me tell you something about this sealing machine. So in 2020, we joined the Go-Getters competition, which was organized by Agra. And we were given an impact award for improving the nutrition of over 400 pregnant men in Ghana. You know, when they are pregnant, they need a lot of iron and all that. So when Agra identified the works we are doing in the Ghanaian community, they awarded us with a grant amount of $2,500. So that is what we use to purchase this machine. I want to see how the sealing is done. Yes. So now let me tell you something. We had to pack this because the aspiring dates and manufacturing dates has already been imprinted on it. Usually, if it has not been done, we'll have to use that machine over there to imprint the manufacturing and aspiring date. Let me tell you something about that. For during the times where we are producing in the kitchen, we use a stump and then we hit it hard. Hard. Do you know what is going to happen now? What's going to happen? I want you to taste the Daliha tea, have an experience with the Daliha sprays, have an experience with the Daliha juices, and then the Daliha powders. I almost touched it, like me. Like I'll come and do all the video without tasting what they have in here. So come over and let's welcome you to the Daliha world. Oh wow, okay. Daliha. Hello. Hi. Good to see you. Yeah, good to see you. Great. Are you bright? Yes. You mentioned your name a lot. Yes. He's Michael founder. And my husband. The magician behind the... The juice. Wow. The Daliha. Oh. Is the bread also made out of turkey berries? No. I think you need the bread because you can jump. I'm so scared because you know, this thing is so bitter and I'm just having flashbacks out of my mom used to beat me just to drink this. I hope it's not bitter. It's not. Sugar here. It's stevia. Stevia. You know stevia? What is that? It's an organic sweetener. Yeah, a better option to sugar. Wow. So what it means is that even people with diabetes can still take our juice. There's ginger in there? Yeah. Oh, this is brilliant man. Oh, you want to serve me the tea? Sure. Thank you. You working here? Yes, I do. Oh, are you doing before? Okay, before I worked as a customer service agent. Good. And now? Before I moved here. Now I'm with Dahlia. And how's the experience so far? It's been a wonderful experience, you know. Wow. Like I've learned a lot. Learned a lot? Yeah. Because I didn't know Techie Berry has a lot of, I mean, there are so many benefits. When I came here, I was like, wow, what's my mom used for? I've been quite. Exactly. Some of us used to be hunters with it. Sure. I've really learned, it's been an amazing experience here. The impact people experience in their products, their testimonies. And my boss is here amazing as well. It's been a wonderful experience. It's five years. We are seeking for funding support of about $1.6 million so that we can expand our farm size to 100 acres. Boy, 3,000 women's smallholder farmers create jobs for 100 youth to process the tea, the jams, the juices and the powders. And also take advantage of the free continental trade agreement within the African continent to move our products to Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire and then Burundi. Wow. That is very, very, you know, a big one on our hearts. I'll add Malawi to it because Malawi is not my favorite country in Africa. Why not? We would. Thank you. Malawi is. You see, I'm representing you guys everywhere I am. Yes. And also we want to penetrate the U.S. into more states because currently we are in five states in the U.S. We sell in the African shops and also we sell into American stores. Wow. So for me, farming means a lot. Farming means food, farming means production. And you know, farming is like a component of agriculture. Some people have this perception that agriculture is for the school dropouts, is for the uneducated, is for the aged, is for the poor. But agriculture is a lucrative, profitable sector that every youth should venture into. Yes, it is. You see this in the bush. If we see us serving it on the market, in the shops, in the supermarket, in the homes of people and you see them drinking it and paying for the value and the addition we are bringing to their nutrition, you'll see that the agricultural sector is a lucrative sector that every youth should go into. It's not a sector for the poor. No. It's a sector that the youth can take advantage of. I'm a youth. I know, right? You know, and I've never regretted going into agriculture. I have never regretted. The bankers are drinking my tea. The engineers are drinking my tea. The presidents are drinking my tea. Daliha, save your life. Love the taste.