DiscoverInvesting in Regenerative Agriculture and Food405 Sylvia Banda - How she trained 60,000 farmers and transformed Zambia's food system
405 Sylvia Banda - How she trained 60,000 farmers and transformed Zambia's food system

405 Sylvia Banda - How she trained 60,000 farmers and transformed Zambia's food system

Update: 2026-02-17
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A conversation with Sylvia Banda, Zambian business woman, restaurateur and social entrepreneur about her journey started when when she was 12. She opened her first food company, and she hasn’t stopped since. She now runs a multi-million-dollar business with over 15 restaurants in Lusaka, Zambia, a food- processing company selling traditional Zambian food worldwide, and has trained over 60,000 smallholder farmers to produce higher-quality products and process them to receive better prices. 

We talk about why researchers should take a back seat and let farmers and entrepreneurs lead now; why the hand tools many farmers still use belong in a museum and why mechanisation is key, but with care; why processing and preserving are essential to ending hunger; and about nutrition, traditional food versus imported food, and how she taught urban people to re-appreciate what is often considered “food for the poor” that is traditional, nutrient-dense, and tasty food. To supply all of this, she set up two factories and trained over 60,000 smallholder farmers, changing many lives. 

Enjoy the story and the knowledge of a true Zambian and Southern African powerhouse.

More about this episode.

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In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.

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In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.

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405 Sylvia Banda - How she trained 60,000 farmers and transformed Zambia's food system

405 Sylvia Banda - How she trained 60,000 farmers and transformed Zambia's food system

Koen van Seijen