UNAJUA S3 EP2: Does Brachiaria trump Napier grass? feat. Mwihaki Mundia

07/12/21 • 10 min

1 Listener

Mwihaki Mundia gives a perspective of how brachiaria grass is exceptionally suited for the Sub-Saharan African livestock farmers especially looking at what climate and soil type does it thrive in. She further weighs in on the dynamic “rivalry” with fodder options such as the popular Napier and Brachiaria grass. On this instalment, Mwihaki Mundia argues that Brachiaria grass is well-suited for Sub-Saharan African livestock farming and unpacks which climates and soil types are best suited to grow the indigenous fodder. Mwihaki Mundia is a Communications Specialist currently working at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Nairobi where she advocates for different technologies that improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in the Africa region. HAVE YOUR SAY: Click on the UNAJUA tab at AfricanTechRoundup.com (www.africantechroundup.com/unajua/) and leave us a 60-second voice note with your reaction to this episode. (We will include some of your audio takes in future follow-up episodes.) PROMO: African Tech Roundup has partnered with Socialstack to launch the $ATRU social token on the Celo blockchain. Listen in to hear African Tech Roundup Co-founder Andile Masuku and Socialstack Co-founder and CEO Andrew Berkowitz unpack the rationale underpinning the token (https://www.africantechroundup.com/unpacking-the-atru-token-part-1/) SUPPORT US: Support our independent media-making efforts by becoming a Patreon. (https://www.africantechroundup.com/patreon/) Image credit: Clara Beukes https://unsplash.com/@clarabeukes

Previous Episode

UNAJUA S3 EP1: Should brachiaria grass be a big(ger) deal across Africa? feat. Mwihaki Mundia

1 Recommendations

This UNAJUA Series - presented by Kenyan die-hard environment advocate and comms pro, Mwihaki Mundia - offers a minimum actionable response to the question: "Could the adoption of Brachiaria grass be a game-changer for livestock farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa?" As part of her Communications Specialist role at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Nairobi, Mwihaki distils expert research into technologies that improve smallholder farmers' livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her advocacy work helps farmers utilise limited space to grow crops and rear animals for sustenance. In this episode, Mwihaki outlines the state of play in Sub-Saharan African subsistence farming and explains why she and the research scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Nairobi are bullish about the climate change-resistant potential of indigenous brachiaria grass. *pun intended* HAVE YOUR SAY: Click on the UNAJUA tab at AfricanTechRoundup.com (www.africantechroundup.com/unajua/) and leave us a 60-second voice note with your reaction to this episode. (We will include some of your audio takes in future follow-up episodes.) PROMO: African Tech Roundup has partnered with Socialstack to launch the $ATRU social token on the Celo blockchain. Listen in to hear African Tech Roundup Co-founder Andile Masuku and Socialstack Co-founder and CEO Andrew Berkowitz unpack the rationale underpinning the token (www.africantechroundup.com/unpacking-t...ken-part-1/). In case you missed it, check out the press release (www.africantechroundup.com/atru-token/) SUPPORT US: Back our independent media-making efforts by becoming a Patreon (www.africantechroundup.com/patreon/). Image credit: Gio's Studio

Next Episode

UNAJUA S4 EP1: What lies are often told about Africa's agriculture sector? ft. Karidas Tshitshonlo

This UNAJUA series features a South African agritech founder called Karidas Tshitshonlo. Karidas has a lot of insight to share from his agribusiness adventure thus far, but before we get to that. Karidas T. shares his take on how innovation in agriculture is providing new opportunities not only to the farmers but to the consumers as well. Khula App is a South African app that connects farmers to a formal marketplace. By using the app, African farmers can now list and track the delivery of their products in real time. Karidas is the founder & CEO of Khula app, an agritech startup he founded 4 years ago. Prior to this venture, he co-founded a South African media company called the Money Tree Group. He is also currently an Advisory Board Member of prestigious Anzisha Prize. Karidas sees agriculture as the backbone of our everyday life. For instance, food, clothing are just two major industries that stem from agriculture. He believes that how we frame the agriculture sector is key to raising proper awareness of its importance. No doubt, Karidas’ outsider status in the business has helped fan his ambition to disrupt the industry. Sub-question breakdown: What are the BIG LIES about agriculture in the continent? HOW BIG is the agriculture opportunity in the continent, really? What is going to be the ROLE OF TECH in achieving great success in agriculture? Promo: In case you’re new to the UNAJUA concept, this is where we offer minimal actionable responses to important questions in 15 minutes or less. Do yourself a favour and check out some of our previous episodes— like the one featuring Derin Adebayo, a Nigerian researcher & analyst who shared his take on the question ‘What is driving the capital boom in Africa’s tech ecosystem?’