Food For Mzansi’s chart-topping agricultural podcast show is back with a bang. This week, we get up, close and personal with Qinisani Qwabe, an agricultural researcher and soybean farmer who is passionate about indigenous crops.
The KwaZulu-Natal thought leader speaks about his love for indigenous vegetables – traditional crops that have been a family favourite for decades. He says, “As a family, my grandparents and I would gather around the table to dish up amadumbe (a tropical root crop) and cowpea (legumes). Ugogo would start telling stories about their upbringing and, oh my word, the conversations we had was always fun.”
The 26-year-old now champions the importance of indigenous crops, adding that he is disheartened by perceptions that it is only meant for poverty-stricken communities. “It saddens me that indigenous vegetables are being underappreciated, especially by the younger generation. Indigenous vegetables are not poor people’s food, but it’s being perceived as such.”
The Farmer’s Inside Track podcast, which is now in its sixth month, has been making waves on both the Apple Podcasts and Spotify charts. The charts released this week confirms that Farmer’s Inside Track is now South Africa’s leading agricultural podcast in the categories for business, entrepreneurship and news. On Spotify and Apple Podcasts, Farmer’s Inside Track holds the 25th and 20th position respectively.
Food For Mzansi co-founder Ivor Price says the latest episode also features a brand-new format. “#TeamFoodForMzansi thrives on innovation. We are constantly thinking about innovative ways to salute the unsung heroes of agriculture. We are also pleasantly surprised by all the podcast downloads from other parts of the world, including the US, Germany and other African countries like Botswana and Kenya.”
All the weekly Farmer’s Inside Track podcasts are anchored by Food For Mzansi editor Dawn Noemdoe. This week journalist Duncan Masiwa also joins her in the hot seat speaking to movers-and-shakers in the agricultural space.
Noemdoe is particularly excited about the new entrepreneurship, inspiration and book slots added to the podcast. “In episode 26, which is out now, we explore the possibility of short time work as opposed to retrenchment in this difficult economic climate. We chat to Jahni de Villiers, Agri SA’s policy head for labour and development. And we’re inspired by farmer Kagalelo Matlala, who is raising up an army of she-bosses in the Northern Cape. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out what our Farmer’s Inside Track club members have chosen as their book of the week…”
“As Africa’s best digital news start-up, we also welcome the many agricultural and other enterprises who are now advertising on the Farmer’s Inside Track podcast and email newsletter,” says Food For Mzansi co-founder Kobus Louwrens. “We love connecting our audience of nearly a million South Africans to leading brands.”
