The AGRF Podcast

Pathé Sene, le Directeur Général de l'AGRF, est responsable de la croissance stratégique et de la gestion quotidienne de son secrétariat en tant que forum indépendant, panafricain et multipartenaire. Avant de rejoindre l'AGRF, Pathé était le principal spécialiste régional de l'environnement et du changement climatique pour le FIDA en Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre, basé à Rome et plus tard à Abidjan. Il a également été directeur du bureau sous-régional du FIDA à Abidjan et directeur de pays pour la Côte d'Ivoire, le Niger et le Libéria. Avant de rejoindre le FIDA, Pathé était spécialiste des politiques de développement durable au Centre mondial des politiques du PNUD sur le développement durable basé à Rio de Janeiro (Brésil). Il a précédemment travaillé avec le PNUD et le PNUE en tant que conseiller de programme régional basé à Nairobi (Kenya), fournissant une assistance technique aux pays africains sur l'intégration des objectifs de pauvreté, d'environnement et de genre dans les cadres nationaux de développement et d'investissement. Avant cela, il a été administrateur de programme et chef d'équipe par intérim au bureau de pays du PNUD en Mauritanie. Les autres postes antérieurs de Pathé en dehors de l'ONU incluent le programme de sécurité alimentaire et le directeur du sous-bureau en Afghanistan, un consultant auprès de l'Union européenne en France et un chercheur agricole à l'Institut sénégalais de recherche agricole. Dans cet épisode, Pathé parle de son expérience dans l'industrie, de sa passion pour le développement agricole africain et de sa vision pour l'avenir de l'AGRF.

Dans cet épisode Tanya Alden-Zeter discute avec Célia Chabi. Elle est fondatrice de Kiel bien-être, une enterprise qui spécialise dans la production et la commercialisation de produits très nutritifs à base de baobab. Du café au baobab, jusqu'aux croquettes et des baumes et pommades fabriqués avec le baobab, ces produits sont adaptés pour tout le monde, y compris les femmes enceintes, les enfants et les personnes agées. Une psychosociologue, Célia est passionée par la nature et par la nutrition - deux passions qui l'ont motivé à créer son enterprise. Celle-ci a été fondée quand elle a aperçu de nombreux problèmes dans sa communauté, des problèmes bien liés à la dénutrition. En tant qu'activiste, Célia travaille avec les personnes défavorisées afin d'améliorer réellement leur qualité de vie.

On this episode we speak to Fatou Manneh, founder of Jelmah Herbella, which was created to add value to products produce in the Gambia and to contribute to unleash the growth potentials of rural women and farmers. Fatou is the 2022 winner of the rising star award for young female agripreneur for The VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA), awards which aim to create visibility for successful women and promote them as positive role models, trigger innovation, and spur ambition among women agripreneurs.Fatou has an inspirational story about her background, how she was inspired to work with women in agriculture and also her plans for the future and global distribution.

An inspirational conversation with start-up founder Tei Mukunya, with Umuliza Njiru  communication lead at the Rockerfeller Foundation's Africa Regional Office, about how Tei was inspired by using healthy food products and watching her family trying to dry foods to start her own food brand. We discuss the challenges with getting products to the market as an SME, developing resilience, the importance of having mentors and advisors, the Good Food Innovation Fund and working hard to help make healthy food easier to access for busy people and their families.  

Cyril Ugwu, Country Director for IDH Nigeria office and also leader of the IDH casava programme, talks to Elske Stevenson, Senior Communications Manager at IDH, about how IDH put 'people, planets and progress' at the heart of trade by levering the power of markets to create better jobs and opportunities for all with a focus on SMEs and farmers at the core of their support offerings. He tells us about the Cassava Progamme and the work they are doing to streamline and increase farming production and support and work towards the idea of zero hunger in Africa and indeed the world in an increasingly challenging climate making cassava production sustainable, competitive and profitable.

UN Climate Champions' Fiona Napier talks to Jack Kimani, CEO Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) about looking at a different approach to how Africa approaches climate change. Kimani discusses moving away from the dominant narrative of the damage caused and towards the opportunities for the continent to benefit from tackling these issues, but in so doing being able to create an engine for economic growth and job creation. He suggests how a lot of Africa's assets – energy, vast amounts of land, a larger energetic and youthful work force - could be used to competitive advantage to tackle climate change and how there could be some benefit to Africa's comparatively slower adoption of power generation, making it easier to leap-frog to new climate techs with a low emissions pathway.

Dr. Florence Wambugu, Kenyan plant pathologist and virologist, is known for her advocacy of using biotechnology to increase food production in Africa. On this episode we talk about how life and work changed since she won the Africa Food Prize, her work with Africa Harvest, scaling and diversifying across Africa, partnering with development and doners, tissue culture, developing innovative seed systems to move from low productivity to high and changing the fortunes of farmers on the ground, the advice she would give to African governments to support growth and resolve hunger in Africa, empowering farmers, young old, male, female and how we should be investing in looking for the next food prize champions not just waiting for them to come to us.

On this episode we learn all about the fantastic Rockerfeller Foundation Schools' Feeding Program and discuss Regenerative Agriculture, diversifying crops, producing food and supporting the environment, how to feed a growing population during climate crises and droughts and other challenges, how to get farmers to understand that the food on the plate is an important as the money in their pocket, the best way to get nutritious food to everyone affordably and much more.  

Wycliffe Ingoi from Advanta Seeds, delivering farming solutions and technology to farmers spanning across 84 countries, highlights why seed quality is so important and how ultimately investing in quality seed will produce a higher yield, serve to protect farmers during a time of climate change and support the development of go-to market strategies. We also explore how governments, providers, farmers and indeed consumers can work together to try to solve the problems of food production.

Lilian Ndungu, leading agriculture tech adviser advising the government of Rwanda and Raj Singh, manager of global agriculture of food advisory at the Tony Blair Institute have an in-depth discussion about the exciting innovations in ag tech, how technology is changing all the way from how we go about our agriculture to even how we eat our food, what technologies should governments adopt that can be sustainability adopted, how to use this information to help farmers make decisions on their farms, putting the farmer at the centre of agricultural transformation, informing government and private investment decision making, the affordability of devices and available data for farmers, smart agriculture that makes farmers less rainfall-dependent, the importance of behavioural change in food consumption and the importance of focusing on home grown and locally grown production that is able to meet the demand of the population.