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In this fourth podcast, we speak to Ms. Thato Mokgadi, the Tomato Agriprenuer founder of Tsoo 13, from Botswana. She answers nine questions, from the key steps in starting a business to when and where to find and invest your money.

Bongani Simon Masuku is the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kingdom of eSwatini responsible for providing guidance, oversight, and strategic direction to the staff of the ministry which is responsible for ensuring food security, poverty alleviation, and improved contribution of the sector to economic growth.  He is also responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of relevant policies and legislation governing operations of the agriculture sector and mobilizing resources for implementing programs and projects of the ministry.  Mr. Masuku has been the country‘s National Focal Point on the UNCCD for the past 15 years. He coordinated the drafting and implementation of the National Action Plan and was instrumental in the establishment of the country’s National Environment Fund. He has also participated in the drafting and review of the SADC Regional Action Plan for combatting desertification. He contributed chapters related to land degradation and rehabilitation during the preparation of the State of Environment document for eSwatini. He has also worked extensively in the design of community projects on land rehabilitation and the mobilization of community participation in their implementation.  

In this episode, UNCCD SPI member Ermias Betemariam is here to provide his expertise as the Land Health Scientist of the World Agroforestry Center. He will also answer some of the questions that we might have on Land and the involvement of the World Agroforestry Center in helping and learning from farmers, governments, and other organizations.

Graham von Maltitz has over 30 years’ experience in environmental and global change. He works on unique problems in resource ecology and management in southern Africa, with a special focus on areas of communal land management. Most recently, he worked on the causes and consequences of global change. For example, the terrestrial feedbacks of climate processes, land use and land-use change as well as biomass-based energy. He works in several global scientific/policy forums and processes such as the Science-Policy Interface group and was part of the team that developed the South African National Action Plan (NAP) for the UNCCD. He contributed to South Africa's national carbon sink assessment and atlas and the study on the trade-offs between industrial crops and food security.    In this podcast, von Maltitz talks about small-scale farmers who, in his view, are the heroes of the African continent. They are the problem-solvers of water availability due to rainfall variance, soil fertility, and climate change, in a continent that is heating up at twice the global rate. Von Maltitz stresses the importance of soil management and water conservation for storing carbon in the soil, keeping water and nutrients in the soil, and maintaining ground cover for rangeland management. He discusses how young people can turn agriculture into businesses that support farmers, which could create secondary services and new industries. He sees the value of Information Technology for innovation but warns about choosing them wisely to avoid disrupting the soil and its profile. 

Welcome to the UNCCD’s series on good land stewardship for present and future generations! This podcast is designed to share stories, news, and conversations about land, desertification, Climate change, sustainable development goals and environmental issues. Each month, The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification will share the best stories from the land, with scientists, policymakers, stakeholders, farmers, and actors on the ground on sustainable land management.