As sustainability reporting becomes more important across global agriculture, farmers are increasingly being asked to provide more data around how food is produced, sourced, and managed.

But what happens when many of these systems are too technical, time-consuming, or simply not designed around the realities farmers face every day?

In this episode, Sharon Nkwah sits down with Charis Aherne, Head of Agricultural Impact at VSAg, to discuss the growing pressure around sustainability reporting, the challenges farmers face with current systems, and how simpler tools like mobile video and AI-supported data collection could help make the process more practical and accessible.

The conversation also explores what these changes could mean for food systems, supply chains, and farmers across emerging markets in the years ahead.

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In this episode, Sharon breaks down how trust actually shapes work across African markets, often in ways organisations underestimate.

Rather than treating trust as an abstract idea or a communications problem, this conversation looks at how trust affects access, timelines, resistance, and day-to-day decision-making. It explores why effort alone can't compensate for a trust gap, why standard performance metrics often miss what's really happening, and why consistency matters more than intensity.

This episode is part of January's editorial focus on authority and foundations, alongside the latest edition of Roots & Reach, which examines how authority is built, recognised, and withdrawn in African markets.

In This Episode

1. Why trust is often noticed only when things feel stuck
2. How trust shows up in access, timelines, and resistance
3. Why you can't outwork a trust gap with more effort
4. What consistency actually signals to the market
5. Why trust is ultimately a leadership issue, not a messaging one

Engage With the Podcast

The Let's Talk Agriculture podcast features:

1. Editorially curated conversations (by invitation)
2. Podcast partnerships (short- to medium-term)
3. Branded or thematic mini-series developed with partner organisations

For inquiries or collaborations, email podcast@letstalkagriculture.com or sign up here.

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