How the Zero Hunger Coalition is Mobilizing AgriFood System Actors to End Hunger & Malnutrition with Francine Picard
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
Release Date: 10/09/2024
The Agritech Boom: African Farmers Going Digital
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
African farmers are embracing the digital revolution, and the impact on agriculture across the continent is nothing short of remarkable! In this episode of the Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast, Sharon takes us on an exciting journey into the world of technology in farming. Discover how mobile apps, digital marketplaces, and innovative fintech solutions are empowering farmers to grow smarter, sell quicker, and connect directly with buyers like never before. But it’s not all smooth sailing. We’ll also tackle the challenges that come with this transformation—think infrastructure hurdles,...
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The ₦5bn Agro-Inputs Distribution Plan – Will It Work?
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
The Nigerian government has announced a ₦5bn agro-inputs distribution plan — promising to get fertilisers, seeds, and agro-chemicals into the hands of farmers. But will this intervention truly reach those who need it most, or will it get stuck in the same old bottlenecks of politics, logistics, and poor timing? In this episode, I sit with Ilyasu Ishak, Business Development Manager at CropIT, to unpack the realities on the ground: How effective input distribution can transform yields Why timing is critical for farmers’ success The risks of leakages and mismanagement What lessons...
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Rethinking Carbon Offsets Through Farmers, Equity, and Climate Justice with Micheal Jones
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
Agriculture is often at the heart of climate conversations, but not always at the center of climate solutions. Farmers, especially smallholders, carry the heaviest weight of climate shocks while decisions are made far away from their fields. In this episode of the Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast, Sharon sits down with Michael Jones, Co-Founder and Lead Architect at AgroReGenerations, to explore what it really means to put farmers first in the fight for climate justice. Michael shares his journey from city life to co-founding a global initiative spanning East Africa and Indonesia, and why...
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Restoring What Feeds Us: Soil, Regeneration, and African-Led Conservation
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
Soil is where it all begins — yet it’s often the most overlooked element in agriculture conversations.
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What Local Sounds Like: Building Regional Media in Multilingual Agri Spaces
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
In this episode, we’re digging into what it really means to create local, relatable media across Africa’s multilingual spaces and why translation alone isn’t enough.
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Beyond the Message: Understanding Agricultural Audiences with Sharon Idahosa
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
Are your agricultural messages truly reaching the people they’re meant for?
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Unlocking the Power of Agro-Informatics – With Karl Morteo (FAO)
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
What if agricultural data wasn’t just for researchers — but also for farmers, governments, startups, and everyday decision-makers?
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Unspoken Work: Why Communication Still Feels Optional in Agriculture
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
There’s a lot of good work happening in agriculture — women-led businesses scaling, agritech solutions making real impact, donor programs driving change in rural communities. But far too often, all that transformation happens quietly. No updates. No stories. No real visibility.
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Leading with Data: How Agri-Businesses Can Use Tech to Drive Smarter Decisions with Beatrice Omoh
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
You’ve probably heard it before: “Data is the new oil.”
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Building Resilient Agri-Businesses with Smart Financial Tools with Ndu Ekwomadu
The Let’s Talk Agriculture Podcast
Running an agri-business isn’t just about producing food — it’s about building systems that work, managing operations efficiently, and making smart financial decisions. But for many agri-entrepreneurs, especially small and growing ones, managing inventory, tracking sales, or even preparing basic financial records can feel overwhelming or get left behind completely.
info_outline[00:00:42] Sharon Idahosa: Hello, beautiful people. Welcome to the Let's Talk Agriculture podcast the podcast that connects you with the happenings, the trends, and opportunities in the agriculture sector.
[00:00:52] Sharon Idahosa: So, here's a quick information for us. We will be rounding up the Let's Talk Agriculture podcast show for the year in [00:01:00] October and maybe stretch to November. Because we are trying to prepare for our year end vaccine, and if you'd like to be a part of it, please do well to reach out to us. Send an email to [email protected].
[00:01:12] Sharon Idahosa: Now for today's episode, we will be looking at how the Zero Hunger Coalition is mobilizing Agri food systems actors to end hunger and malnutrition. Now, zero hunger is part of the SDGs and it must be addressed. So to help us learn more about the Unifying Effort, join me in welcoming Francine Picard, Director of Partnerships at Shamba Centre for Food and Climate.
[00:01:39] Sharon Idahosa: Hello, Francine. Thank you so much for joining the show today. I hope you've been well.
[00:01:42] Francine: I'm fine, Sharon, and thank you for having me today.
[00:01:45] Sharon Idahosa: It's a pleasure to have you here. When I saw your profile, I just thought, yeah, maybe we could connect. I, to be honest, I wasn't looking at the Let's Talk Agriculture podcast.
[00:01:54] Sharon Idahosa: I was trying to be very biased because I have A podcast for women. And I thought that, yes, maybe I [00:02:00] should have you on my personal podcast, but at the end of the day, we found ourselves here, which I think is amazing. So, thank you once again for joining LTA podcast. So, to get this episode started, maybe you can just give us an overview of what the Zero Hunger Coalition is all about.
[00:02:17] Sharon Idahosa: What is the inspiration behind this and why now?
[00:02:21] Francine: Thank you, Sharon. Before I start talking about the Zero Hunger Coalition, I just want to reflect on You Wanted Me as a Woman, and I think that the Shamba Centre, the organization that I'm one of the co-founders, actually has an amazing story, because it's all about three amazing women.
[00:02:38] Francine: Sometimes it's also nice to recognize who we are, uh, that's joined forces all together to say, okay, let's work on, we have been working on the issue of ending anger, but let's put our forces all together to see, to then try and change things the way that we want to change it. Let disrupt the system the way you [00:03:00] think we are able to achieve it.
[00:03:01] Francine: So the Shamba Center is a new organization. We have two years of existence and then we are drafted by the passion and some of the passion actually is quite huge because it's all about How we can ensure that we are bringing idea, bold idea, and, and how we can move with all our idea to change things. So one of the initiatives that we thought could also respond to that quest is the Zero Hunger Coalition.
[00:03:29] Francine: So the Zero Hunger Coalition actually has been, uh, created, uh, as a response to the urgent global needs to address hunger and malnutrition. As you know, we are facing a huge amount of people. People now more than 700 are going to bed hungry. And this is really outrageous, is not acceptable. But this is also the reality.
[00:03:50] Francine: And I think that's, uh, the whole world gather together in 2021 during the work. UN, United Nations Food Systems Summit and say, what can we do together to actually ensure that the issue of malnutrition and hunger is not only about producing more food, is also for ourselves as an individual, as an institution, to see if we can, uh, Look that in a holistic way.
[00:04:17] Francine: We need to define the way that we are consuming the way that you are producing the way that our relationship to the food needs to be looked at differently in a very holistic manner in order to change things. So, the Zero Hunger Coalition came in that conversation and say, yes, but we need to ensure that hunger.
[00:04:38] Francine: need to disappear because the world is, is a plenty. We have enough resources. We have enough food, but we are not able to target that simple issue that actually somehow, I need to admit some, maybe we as a human were some selfish, uh, but we need to change that, that, that sound. [00:05:00] Um, so the, the coalition emerged as I say, uh, three years ago, it brings together government, private company, civil society, UN organization, because we need to walk towards the same goal.
[00:05:14] Francine: And I think it's all about finding long term solution and not just quick fixes as we used to do. I think we need to find a way that we can create a platform that actually leverage that willingness to change things and also to eradicate anger.
[00:05:33] Sharon Idahosa: Thank you so much for that overview. I mean, I know how, how important it is for us to come together to achieve certain objectives.