The future of farming in Africa and a once-in-a-lifetime forestry opportunity

In this interview with Jeanette Clark from How we made it in Africa, Maris’ CEO and co-founder Charlie Tryon discusses opportunities in the agriculture and forestry sectors in Africa. 

“We are big believers in taking the risk out of agriculture. Producers are constantly at the mercy of the elements: rainfall, temperature, diseases and pests, and logistical challenges. We see a real opportunity in specialised controlled intensive agriculture. To me, this is the future of agriculture

He calls for better consumer education about airfreighted food, which often has a lower carbon footprint than homegrown produce: 

future of farming in Africa

“A lot of food grown locally in the European Union come from heated glass houses that use gas. The carbon footprint of tomatoes grown in these glasshouses in the UK is, in my opinion, far greater than if you were to airfreight them from Kenya as part of the available space on a passenger plane.”

And he highlights the urgent need for investors to enter riskier, more remote regions if we’re going to plant enough forests to address climate change and produce building materials for the future. 

“I think it is important that investors should realise that they need to step out of their comfort zone to achieve the impact they want. Your money can go further if you invest in hard-to-reach places, rather than say financing a large cement company or large well-established bank.”

For the full interview, click here.

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