Emata is a fintech company, based in Uganda, that is providing loans to farmers. While farming represents 80% of the employment in that country, it only makes up only 30% of the economy. It’s extremely hard for farmers to break even–much less invest in their farms. Emata is changing economic circumstances for farmers by providing loans at a much lower interest rate than they are used to and doing it all through WhatsApp. In this episode, I speak to Bram and Lillian about why Emata is making such a big impact–with a 95% repayment rate–and the future of farming in Africa. I hope you enjoy ..read more

Emata is a fintech company, based in Uganda, that is providing loans to farmers. While farming represents 80% of the employment in that country, it only makes up only 30% of the economy. It’s extremely hard for farmers to break even–much less invest in their farms. Emata is changing economic circumstances for farmers by providing loans at a much lower interest rate than they are used to and doing it all through WhatsApp. In this episode, I speak to Bram and Lillian about why Emata is making such a big impact–with a 95% repayment rate–and the future of farming in Africa. I hope you enjoy ..read more

Emata is a fintech company, based in Uganda, that is providing loans to farmers. While farming represents 80% of the employment in that country, it only makes up only 30% of the economy. It’s extremely hard for farmers to break even–much less invest in their farms. Emata is changing economic circumstances for farmers by providing loans at a much lower interest rate than they are used to and doing it all through WhatsApp. In this episode, I speak to Bram and Lillian about why Emata is making such a big impact–with a 95% repayment rate–and the future of farming in Africa. I hope you enjoy ..read more

Dennis and JT Cohlmia have been a part of the dairy industry for over 40 years. Their latest venture, Strive Nutrition, is a pivot in a new direction that removes the cow from the equation. Strive Nutrition uses precision fermentation to create a bio-identical, animal-free whey protein isolate and cow-free milk. While vegan-friendly, this is not another rendition of plant-based milk. Instead, they partnered with Perfect Day and use fermented microflora (instead of cows) to create dairy products (and non-dairy oat and almond milks) supplemented with their animal-free whey protein.  There a ..read more

Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT) helps farmers achieve greater yields and fight pests with bees. In this episode, I chatted with founder, Ashish Malik, who wanted to create an agricultural solution that could support feeding the earth's growing population. BVT's technology starts in a 'smart hive', where bees dip their bodies in a non-toxic biological fungicide before going off to do their bee business. Bees pass the fungicide along to the plant 95% more efficiently than farmers' sprays--which means less fungicide is needed in the long run. Their proprietary fungicide technology, is known as a ..read more

In this podcast, I interviewed Siddharth Jadhav, founder and CEO of Polybee--an autonomous microdrone company out of Singapore that is mimicking the work of bees and also taking very precise plant measurements in an effort to help farmers increase their yields. We talk about the critical role of pollination in food security and why Polybee is much more than a pollination as a service company.  They are the first scalable drone solution targeting producers in controlled environment agriculture and partnering with seed companies who are looking for faster breeding cycles and fewer resources ..read more

In this episode, you'll meet Ralph Becker, founder of Urban Greens in Manila. Inspired by plant factories in Japan, a lack of fresh produce in the Philippines, and DIY hydroponics videos on YouTube, Ralph started Urban Greens, the first vertical farm in the Philippines. He is currently building out a warehouse vertical farm from the ground up with proprietary in-house design specifically for the tropics, using local materials and his own IoT. To be more sustainable, he grows crops without energy-intensive cooling systems. Urban Greens sells produce to individuals, bars, and restaurants. He col ..read more

"No-till," "carbon farming," and "regenerative ag" are buzzwords in agriculture. But did you know these techniques rely heavily on herbicides to produce food at scale? In this podcast, I chat with Clint from Greenfield Robotics. His company creates solutions for regenerative farmers to minimize inputs like chemicals and achieve success without disturbing precious soil microbes through tilling.  You'll learn the three main things that make a farm more carbon neutral (or regenerative) and why it's challenging to do this on large swaths of fields. We also discuss if farmers are receptive to ..read more

Experts estimate that over ⅓ of the food in America is wasted. In this episode, I interview Valeria from Peel Soft Serve, who is on a mission to help change that statistic. Peel Soft Serve is rescuing fruit that would otherwise go to waste and turning it into a creamy, frozen vegan treat that’s perfect for hot Miami days. Her company brings awareness to this issue and saves an impressive amount of bananas (and other tropical fruit) from going to waste. Hear about how she gives cosmetically-challenged bananas a second chance and get tips on how to reduce food waste at your house ..read more

Heron Farms is growing sea beans in their vertical farm and restoring marshland from their home base in Charleston, South Carolina. In this episode, I speak with Sam Norton, the founder of Heron Farms. Inspired by the marsh he grew up playing in, he started the first saltwater vertical farm in the US. Heron Farms grows a type of Salicornia, also known as a sea bean. This plant provides high levels of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, and, not surprisingly, sodium chloride. Chefs sometimes use it as a replacement for salt on fish dishes, like Crudo or ceviche. Beyond the farm, they're also u ..read more