f >> welcome to "global 3000!" ♪ one household, one garden. alberta akosa is on a mission to help women in ghana grow their own fruit and vegetables. in china, care services for the elderly are going high-tech. what does that entail? and, the controversial music from egypt's streets that won't be silenced. ♪ [shouting]

>> the arab spring arrived in egypt in january 2011, with protests erupting across the country. tens of thousands of mainly young people gathered on tahrir square in cairo to demonstrate against the autocratic regime of hosni mubarak, eventually forcing him from power. today, 11 years later, the country is still led by an authoritarian president, abdel fattah al-sisi. democracy and freedom of expression are under threat, and artists face increasing censorship. ♪ >> musician abou leyla is working in the studio with his producer mustafa. they've been collaborating for nine years. they both prefer working at night. abou leyla means 'father of the night' in arabic. his musical genre is "mahraganat," a uniquely egyptian blend of funk, techno and rap. ♪

>> the music helps me forget all my worries. we sing about what we experience on the street. and, of course, we always try to convey a message. ♪ >> but because his lyrics touch on subjects like drugs and women, in recent months, he's been banned from playing live concerts by egypt's powerful state-sponsored musicians syndicate. musicians must be registered with it to perform commercially. >> i feel paralyzed. the ban is a disaster. they should have talked to me and told me what i'm doing wrong, and what i can do to change it. >> different worlds collide in egypt's music scene. on the one hand, there is the musicians syndicate, which decides who can perform and who can't. on the other, there are the young artists who usually come from rough neighborhoods in cairo and alexandria.

that's where mahraganat originated, spreading from the street, some 15 years ago, to the mainstream. ♪ today mahraganat echoes throughout the country, blaring out of every speaker, every tuk tuk. the state might have banned live performances, but the sound of mahraganat is everywhere. a sound sara ramadan grew up with. [chatter] the 30-year-old activist on her way to the boulaq el dakrour district. ramadan dispenses legal advice to mahraganat artists, so they can appeal against performance bans. in her opinion, the state sees these artists and their music as a threat. >> the country's image matters

a lot to the syndicate and the state. the state denies these poor neighborhoods exist, that there is widespread poverty and that people who often lack education openly describe the harsh reality of their lives in their music. here in alexandria, abou leyla is posing for selfies in a trendy café. he'd been hoping to smoke some shisha and relax with friends, but he doesn't get a minute to himself. ♪ mahraganat's popularity has long reached the middle and upper classes too. >> we didn't arrange to meet anyone here today. but you hear mahraganat at every event, whether it's a birthday, a baby shower or a wedding. people play mahraganat at every celebration. >> the attention he attracts in the café is some consolation,

but abou leyla misses live performances. ♪ a year ago, weddings and concerts were his main source of income. [chanting] [singing] ♪ the future of his career will be decided at the end of this corridor, in the offices of the musicians syndicate. the case workers see themselves as guardians of moral standards. they think mahraganat is all about bad boys and bad language. >> their songs are a threat to society. they use inappropriate language. an entire generation is listening to this and thinking it's acceptable. of course, it's a threat. >> the syndicate has close ties to egypt's military. sarah ramadan says that artistic freedom is being thwarted. >> the syndicate isn't independent, even though it

should be, from a legal point of view. its job should be protecting the interests of its members, but in fact what it's doing is reflecting the government's position. lines of fans outside concert venues are becoming a more common sight again, a few mahraganat performers have been allowed back on stage, after tweaking their lyrics and toe-ing the sysyndicate line. abou leyla, the "father of the night," won't be changing his lyrics. he hopes the syndicate will be flexible. either way, he's certain the sound of his generation won't be silenced. ♪ >> a declining birthrate, a rapidly ageing population. china is dealing with the consequences of its one-child policy, introduced in 1980 and only lifted in 2016.

now there's no one to take care of the elderly. the state is pinning its hopes on advanced tech. >> this control room coordinates the vital data of some 160 thousand elderly people. their heart rate, blood pressure, movements, and much more. it's china's vision of elderly care services. >> we analyze the old people's water and power consumption. their families get that data, too, so they also know what is going on. if somebody stops using water all of a sudden, it triggers an alarm. >> high-tech engineers like zhai weikang are in high demand. china faces an aging crisis. the demographic reversal between old and young here is the fastest in the world. this platform in the eastern chinese metropolis of tianjin is one of over 200 such pilot projects nationwide.

a showcase, which means a corresponding number of officials join us on our shoot. in this apartment block, they've chosen 65-year-old liu xiuhua for our interview. she takes us through her apartment. >> that's called an infra-red motion sensor. look, it went on. when you approach it the red light goes on. if someone shows no sign of movement for say over 24 hours, it transmits that information to their children or the community staff. >> how is my health today? [robotic voice] -- i am checking your status now. please wait. liu xiuhua's health status

today: pulse 84 a minute and normal. blood pressure 76 to 116 and normal. >> it also reads out her hours of sleep and the paces she's walked. >> status check over, all the best to you. >> up until recently it would have been normal for her to move in with her son. offspring were traditionally seen as an insurance for old age. but times are changing in china. a precarious situation for the elderly who need care. 1,500 kilometres west in the city of lanzhou one institution overseas 130,000 people. it's one of an increasing number of "virtual care homes." the elderly remain living at home but are monitored from this control room. >> this is our target group, older people without children,

who can no longer work. during our house visits, we first take a photo for official recognition purposes. -- for facial-recognition purposes. thanks to the internet and modern technology, it has become a lot easier to supervise things. here we can check the length of a visit using the recording. each visit should take 15 minutes. you are quite welcome to listen into one of our recordings. [phone rings] >> efficiency is the top priority here. that becomes evident in the next room, which is a kind of call center for the elderly. >> hello. how can i help you?

beef soup for two, for today? ok. goodbye. everything just pops up. everything has already been recorded, including the restaurant where he likes to order. so we just need to press the button. >> but what do those on the receiving end of this kind of care think? we visit zhang zhenggang. he's been on the virtual care home's books for a year now. household help, food deliveries, all coordinated by the call centre. once a week, nurse yan ying comes round to give him a check-up, done acccording to a strict routine. >> every day my food comes through this window. look how practical that is. if i went into a care home, i would be completely cut off from society.

here, i can read the paper and meet people who i grew up with. >> since he was young zhang zhenggang has been plagued by severe rheumatism. he's been bedbound for years and welcomes any kind of distraction. ♪ >> hello. i'm from the home for the elderly. what did the carer do? >> she did my shopping and washed me, and cleaned. >> good health to you! goodbye? >> goodbye. >> zhang zhenggang cooked all his own meals until a year ago. he didn't even own a cellphone. he doesn't expect much by way of care. most of china's elderly can't count on much more either, with ever fewer younger people to care for them. >> eat the rainbow! as they say. fresh produce keeps us healthy.

the world health organization recommends we eat five portions a day. ideally, two portions of fruit and three of vegetables, about 400 grams in total. but that's an impossible goal for many. as a result, they have vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which makes them vulnerable to diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. worldwide, one in five deaths is associated with poor diet. it's an acute problem in many parts of the southern hemisphere. plenty of fruit and vegetables are grown there, but the bulk of production is exported. today we consider the case of blueberries in peru. ♪ >> for a long time, reyna espinoza was unemployed. but these days her family often has to manage without her, she

believes for work at 6:00 every morning. >> the blueberry fields are the best place to find work. they need workers every week and it's not so strenuous. and they pay well, too. >> reyna espinoza earns the equivalent of 360 euros a month. she says that's a pretty good income in peru. the blueberries are cultivated on the hillside slopes of the desert. they're not native to peru. but europe has an insatiable appetite for blueberries, and peru has become its main supplier. >> this plantation is 2 years old. the fruit is picked from some 3 million blueberry bushes by 1,500 seasonal workers.

they're grown in plastic sacks containing humus. they will grow in the desert -- they wouldn't grow in the desert sand. in some plantations the soil is treated with sulfur to reduce the ph value. blueberries grow best in acidic soil. as supervisor, reyna espinoza is responsible for quality control. >> just imagine, until two years ago, all this was only desert and sand. and today we harvest tons and tons of blueberries here. it's amazing! ♪ >> blueberries are considered a 'superfood', packed with antioxidants and vitamins. they contain little sugar, have no seeds, and supposedly protect against cancer. peru's production has grown dramatically and it's now the world's biggest blueberry exporter. the climate guarantees good harvests, but the fruit is sprayed to guard against fungi and insects. the plantation manager insists pesticides are used sparingly.

>> if we've done everything we can organically, and there are still insects and diseases, then we have to use pesticides, ones that are approved here in peru and in the countries we export to. >> another problem is water. for now there's enough meltwater from the icecaps in the mountains to irrigate the plantations. but the blueberry fields are set to expand three-fold in the next few years. and what then? dams have been built on the edge of the desert, with the water diverted through tunnels. it flows towards the fields on the pacific side of the andes and away from the amazon basin. >> in order for our exports to remain internationally competitive, peru needs to create more farmland and grow more produce. and for that, we need new irrigation infrastructure projects.

>> the whole operation is geared towards maximum growth. unlike smaller european bilberries, which are rarely cultivated and have less commercial potential, peruvian blueberries are forcefully bred. new varieties promise even bigger harvests. this one is called "matías," it grows abundantly, has firm, tasty fruit, and is about to take german supermarkets by storm. >> we're reacting to demand in europe. consumers there want better quality blueberries. big, firm blueberries that can survive long transport routes and can be kept in the refrigerator for a while. and they need to be a shiny blue color. two >> to meet europe's exacting standards, the fruit is often treated with fungicide before it's shipped. it's kept in cold storage for three weeks as it travels the 10,000 kilometers to germany. the carbon footprint of the

shipping route is considerable, even if it's less than it would be by plane. new plantations are springing up in peru. one will be in the community where juan carlos lopez is mayor. he's worried about irrigation. but he hopes it will create some 3,000 new jobs. >> we can't believe that blueberries will soon be growing here. it will be a dream come true for our impoverished community. >> peruvian blueberries fly off the supermarket shelves in europe and offer people here the chance of a more comfortable life. but while peru's economy enjoys the boost, the environment bears the burden. >> the catastrophic consequences of importing can be seen across africa. heavily subsidized veg from

europe has largely replaced regional produce, at the expense of local farmers. agriculture in ghana, for example, is a struggling sector. activist alberta akosa encourages women to plant their own backyard gardens, it's economical, and their families get to eat freshly grown food. ♪ >> a crowd of women is gathering to get some gardening tips. growing fresh produce isn't hard. and the benefits are enormous. >> here in northern ghana, alberta akosa and her team are showing local women how best to create a 'backyard' vegetable garden. the small organization started out as a social media project. >> we are all planting together. >> and did so gathered momentum, attracting a growing number of female followers.

>> we had seeds at our office, we had some small garden tools, so we started advocating, putting on social media that if you want a backyard garden, just contact us. i don't want to use the word crazy, but it was crazy for us. >> within a week, 700 volunteers signed up for the "one household, one garden" program. many of them were women who had got out of the habit of gardening, or whose husbands didn't want them working in the garden. but during the pandemic, food prices rose dramatically. and many people decided to go back to growing their own vegetables. it has an impact on the entire community. >> anytime we support women, we realize that there is a multiplication. we see that over the years we supported women farmers women , processors, women marketers, widows who are also into farming , pregnant women, and single mothers.

and we realized that it is extended beyond their families or their communities being an , changing livelihoods and being an inspiration, and serving as mentors even within their communities. >> once they complete training, the women awarded seeds and a pair of rubber boots. they'll be going home to plant tomatoes, onions and peppers. if their vegetable patches flourish, they'll even have enough produce to sell. >> what i have learnt here will benefit me a lot. i can make some money with what we have been trained to do. it will also help mothers feed their children after every harvest. this could be very good business for me. >> in recent years, food prices have doubled, even at local markets. the coronavirus crisis has caused ongoing supply chain problems. alberta akosa is keen to make agriculture a more stable sector.

she believes that a lot more locally grown produce could be sold at local markets, ghana is a fertile country that's rich in resources. >> it's quite expensive, the fact we have not even seen anyone from ghana, it is all from cote d'ivoire. you are looking at transportation costs here and all that is going into it. >> now 41, alberta akosa heads the organization. she originally wanted to be a journalist. now she is an activist traveling across the country with her team. in the last five years, they've trained up some 26,000 women. >> i was more into consultancy when i started my career. i ended up having a path which made me more fulfilled, and that is traveling across the country, dialoging, dining with women

, with women farmers, smallholder farmers, and seeing what i can do in my own small way to support. >> agriculture in ghana is a struggling sector. a growing number of farmers are giving up. the driving principle behind agrihouse foundation is that cultivating vegetables should be profitable. the project also promotes healthy eating. it has the support of local governments. >> overall, it also raises the consciousness of people's awareness in seeking to make their environments cleaner by having those gardens. so it is a concept that for me, is holistic, in terms of getting the right nutrition, getting the environment clean, and more importantly, generating people's interest in practicing agriculture at that level. >> alberta akosa follows up on her training courses, visiting participants years later to see how they're getting on. the idea is that they plant gardens that are sustainable,

they have to last longer than just one season. the experts give tips on how to get the most out of a small space. >> i wish that i extend my garden to be able to feed some of my neighbors around not only my family, because if i have more, the palaver and also benefit from it. so that is what i am hoping for. >> sometimes, alberta akosa inspires participants to start their own business. many of the women who join the course have been unable to find work. >> i started in 2020 with three rabbits, and scaled up to about 60 rabbits within a year. the future is very bright for rabbit farming, and i see myself in a few years to come with more cages, more breeding stock, providing for restaurants,

hotels, and individuals. >> the women learn new skills, and hopefully start to earn an income too. but not everyone approves. > alberta akosa and her team make a point of talking to participants' husbands and the village leaders, to convince them that it is in everyone's interests. >> we are very positive about this group, we know they will implement it. we want to see them more empowered. we want them to be proud of themselves as women. >> seeing women learn to take pride in their achievements is what drives her. today, she's just shown over 100 women how to be more self-sufficient. hopefully, besides their gardens , their self-confidence will blossom and flourish, too. ♪ >> that's all from us at "global 3000" this week. thanks for joining us, and

don't forget to send us your comments to global3000@dw.com. and visit us on facebook, dw global ideas. see you next time. take care!

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