Book: Global Perspectives on Agriculture Technology
In 2021, as part of the “Conversations with Rhishi” series, I did a deep dive on agriculture issues in different parts of the world, through conversations with experts and practitioners. The 12 experts were: Connie Bowen (US), Sarah K Mock (US), Mark Young (US), Carl Lippert (US), Megz Reynolds (Canada), Kim Keller (Canada), Eli Pollak (Kenya), Kellan Hays (Zambia), Jehiel Oliver (Nigeria), Patrick Gerlich (Indonesia), Xin Yi Lim (China), and Venky Ramachandran (India).
The 12 conversations explore a wide range of topics like the venture capital model for Agricultural Technology (AgTech), different financing options for AgTech, the nature of innovation, automation, how farming will change in the future, the culture clash between technologists and agriculture industry veterans, history of US and Canadian agriculture, techno-optimism, role of policy and science, mental health issues for farmers, produce e-commerce, challenges with smallholder farming in countries like India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia, and the potential of farm improvements to raise the standard of living of millions of farmers in the developing world.
Foster Podcast
As an experiment in podcasting, I recorded four podcasts for Foster Co-writing in 2021. The podcasts interviewed writers about their writing process.
November 19th, 2021
For the past two years, Shane Thomas has been writing a weekly newsletter called Upstream Ag Insights, with a tagline of “Essential News and Analysis for Agribusiness Leaders.” Shane has grown his newsletter to thousands of readers, collaborated with many experts in agribusiness, and established himself as a worldwide thought leader in the space.
Shane, DJ, and Rhishi did a deep dive into:
Research, writing, and editing process: How does Shane research and go deep on complex topics? How does Shane reliably produce high-quality, long-form content? How does he balance writing “Inside Baseball” style, vs. drawing in not-in-the-know readers?
Picking what to write about: How does Shane decide what’s worth writing about? What role does curiosity play in deciding what to write about?
Growth & content strategy: What would Shane do if she was just getting started today building his audience? How does Shane think about his overall distribution strategy? How does Shane approach collaboration with other writers and experts?
The business model of writing online: How does Shane use his online presence to monetize, and drive other business opportunities?
October 30th, 2021
Arnab Ray (Great Bong) is a prolific creator, who has been writing online since 2004. Arnab has written 5 novels (some of them are being made into a web-series), technical books, innumerable blogs, and newspaper articles, hosts his own podcast (Attention pliss), and is active on social media. Arnab is a huge fan of Bollywood movies, the game of cricket, and is a keen observer of cultural mores, especially among Indians and the Indian diaspora. Arnab is not afraid to speak (or write) his mind, and he does it with a dose of humor, sarcasm, and literary flourish.
*Bong is a person from the state of West Bengal in India or is from Bangladesh and speaks the Bengali language. “Bong” also encompasses a personality style, and a particular type of philosophy. It has nothing to do with smoking artifacts (or does it?)
Agenda
Arnab and Rhishi did a deep dive into the following topics:
Writing journey: When and how did Arnab start his writing career?
Writing process: What does Arnab’s writing process look like? What qualities, and routines makes Arnab a prolific creator?
Books, podcasts, & Twitter: How does Arnab approach writing technical books vs. fiction? What are Arnab’s views on publishing houses? What role does his podcast and Twitter play in his creative process?
Motivations and future projects: What does Arnab think about the “creator economy?” Will Arnab ever be on Substack? What advice does Arnab have for writers who are just starting off?
October 8th, 2021
For the past 18 months, Janette Barnard has been writing a weekly newsletter called Prime Future for innovators in livestock, meat, and dairy. Janette is an entrepreneur, and currently a venture capitalist with Merck Animal Ventures.
Her work has evolved alongside her curiosities, which range from innovation history, venture capital, to entrepreneurship in the field of animal agriculture.
Agenda
Janette, DJ, and Rhishi did a deep dive into:
Research, writing, and editing process: How does Janette research and go deep on complex topics? How does Janette reliably produce high-quality, long-form content? How does she balance writing “Inside Baseball” style, vs. drawing in not-in-the-know readers?
Picking what to write about: How does Janette decide what’s worth writing about? What role does curiosity play in deciding what to write about?
Growth & content strategy: What would Janette do if she was just getting started today building her audience? How does Janette think about her overall distribution strategy? How does Janette approach collaboration with other writers and experts?
The business model of writing online: How does Janette use her online presence to drive other business opportunities?
September 10th, 2021
The seed for Sarah’s passion for farming was planted on her family’s farm in Wyoming. As it grew, so did her need to find the answer to a critical question: is it possible to farm without exploiting farmers, farmworkers, the environment, or communities? Sarah's search for answers took her around the globe, working in and around agriculture for non-profits, government organizations, Silicon Valley companies, the national news media, and directly with farms.
Sarah writes a weekly newsletter (Big Team Farms), occasionally posts provocative essays on Medium on topics related to agriculture and food systems, and engages in vigorous Twitter discussions. She has recently published a bestselling book called “Farm (and other F words).” The sequel is set for publication in late 2021.
Agenda
Sarah, DJ, and Rhishi did a deep dive into:
Research, writing, and editing process: How does Sarah research and go deep on complex topics? How does Sarah reliably produce high-quality, long-form content? What does Sarah’s editing process look like?
Picking what to write about: How does Sarah decide what’s worth writing about?
Twitter: How does Sarah approach Twitter? What is the role of Twitter in the overall process?
Book writing: Why did Sarah decide to write a book? What was her process like? How did she find a publisher that supported her goals? Did she write an outline first, and pitch it?
Growth & content strategy: How does Sarah think about her overall distribution strategy? How does Sarah approach collaboration with other writers and experts?