Innovation from the Field: Recent Episodes
Briony Mathieson
In this podcast series, we interview the innovators, scientists, and business and non-profit entrepreneurs who are reimagining agribusiness and food supply, and working to transform our world.
Join your host, Briony Mathieson, in this carefully curated collection of adventures and insights, as each 10-minute episode travels the world, exploring places through the eyes of the people who know first-hand what it takes to not only innovate but enable and empower change. We visit places like dry riverbeds in Senegal that have been newly brought to life with heat-tolerant wheat; an Indonesian national park around which coffee farmers are being encouraged to use sustainable practices; and smallholder farms in Ethiopia where a modeling tool is cracking the code on applying best practices.
Olam International is a leading food and agribusiness that supplies food, ingredients, feed and fibre to 25,200 customers worldwide. Its value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 5 million farmers. Its AtSource is a revolutionary sustainability insights platform for agricultural supply chains, and its Olam Food Prize for Innovation in Food Security supports scientific research that can deliver transformational impacts within global agriculture.
How important is it to think fast and big about even the smallest projects, and what are the secrets to doing it?
In this episode, Robert Gould, senior facilitator, and Suzannah Sosman, project manager, at Ag Innovations in California explore bringing together and facilitating collaborative solutions to sustainability challenges. Ag Innovations convened the California Water Action Collaborative, known as QUACK, that involves corporate brands, technology companies, environmental organizations, farms, and local governments to pursue collective action that'll improve California's water security for all residents.
You can learn more about Ag Innovations here and the California Water Action Collaborative here.
Here's more about Olam International.
What are the keys to dealing with the surprises inherent in any innovation project? How do respect and collaboration help yield the best solutions?
In this episode, Derek Azevedo, Executive Vice President at Bowles Farming Company, talks about a project to restore a natural habitat grew into something much more.
You can learn more about Bowles' Great Valley Seed Co. here.
Here's more about Olam International.
How can we innovate the way we think about protecting wildlife and nature preserves? Is it possible to work with the communities you might have seen as part of the problem?
In this episode, Matt Leggett, Senior Advisor for Terrestrial at the Wildlife Conservation Society talks about a novel partnership to protect the forests of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parts in southern Sumatra.
You can learn more about the "Forest-First" approach here.
Here's more about Olam International.
What are the keys to identifying where innovation can make the most positive impact? How do the challenges of scale impact the ways successful models are applied to new projects?
In this episode, Dr. Tomaso Ceccarelli talks about his team’s use of data to optimize smallholder farm yields of staple crops in food insecure areas. Dr. Ceccarelli’s project won the 2019 Olam Prize.
You can learn more about Olam International here.
How do you tackle proposing fundamental changes to established practices and habits? How important is it to see beneficiaries of innovation as co-creators?
In this episode, Dr. Filippo Bassi describes how his team developed a strain of heat-tolerant wheat that is now being successfully cultivated in over a half-dozen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Bassi's project won the 2017 Olam Prize.
You can learn more about Olam International here.