Transforming African Agriculture: Small-Scale Farming Meets Technology | Flo Mosoane

Описание: 🎙️ Flo Mosoane, founder of Easy Chicken Club in South Africa, joined Prof. Dr. Zoltán Ács, Director of the Vienna Institute for Global Studies (VIGS), for a conversation on the transformative potential of small-scale agriculture in Africa. Together they explore how technology, strategic infrastructure, and localized supply chains can unlock economic opportunity for millions while addressing food security challenges across the continent.
South Africa presents a paradox: a country of two agricultures. On one side, sophisticated commercial farming operations compete globally in blueberries, macadamia nuts, and other high-value crops. On the other, millions of small-scale farmers operate informally, locked out of markets by land ownership structures, lack of infrastructure, and limited access to inputs. FloM explains how this dual system creates enormous lost potential—especially in a country with a young population, high unemployment, and the natural resources to become a regional agricultural powerhouse.
The conversation centers on poultry production, the highest contributor to South Africa's agricultural output and a critical lever for both food security and poverty alleviation. Chicken is the most consumed protein in the country, affordable, efficient to produce, and scalable. Yet small-scale farmers remain trapped in a middle ground: too large to sell live chickens profitably on the roadside, too small to invest in processing and distribution. Easy Chicken Club solves this by enabling farmers to operate as though they were larger contract growers—aggregating demand for inputs, pooling supply for customers, and building localized processing infrastructure that bypasses large retail chains.
FloM shares her own journey from medical scientist to pharmaceutical professional to small-scale chicken farmer—a transition that revealed the financial fragility and systemic inefficiencies facing farmers. She describes the challenges of contaminated wood chips, the importance of veterinary support, and the role of technology in bridging gaps that have long excluded small producers from formal value chains. Her model leverages franchise systems, mobile apps, and distributed infrastructure to bring food safety, quality assurance, and economies of scale to farmers who have been operating in isolation.
The episode also examines Africa's broader agricultural landscape. Despite being rich in land, water, and human resources, the continent imports an extraordinary amount of food—not due to geography, but due to underinvestment and political instability. FloM remains optimistic, arguing that Africa has the opportunity to grow its agricultural sectors sustainably from the start, leveraging technology and intentional planning to avoid the resource depletion experienced elsewhere. From energy challenges to land redistribution, from poultry value chains to the role of chicken in the global protein transition, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful vision for the future of food in Africa.
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