Lessons from a Global Focus Program

After just spending 5 weeks galloping around 5 countries as part of my Nuffield Scholarship, Australia, Zimbabwe, the UK, the Netherlands and Georgia, I’ve had some overarching reflections I wanted to share, I'd be interested in your thoughts and questions.

Knowledge reflections

• Land tenure is fundamental to food security, business confidence and succession planning.
• Food is globally undervalued, the true cost isn’t understood and there is little interested in doing so. This is not just financial, but environmentally, ecologically and socially.
• There is a disconnect in the food system where good quality commodities are being produced, then between the producer and the consumer, decreased in nutritional value with anti-nutritional factors added. This is leading to diabetes and obesity in people that don’t have enough to eat.
• Food security is a global challenge, yet the Netherlands and the UK are moving away from worrying about this as a sovereign risk. In their words, they can afford to buy in food cheaper than they can grow it. A deeper post on food security coming shortly….
• The importance of making policy practical on farm was evident everywhere. Policy is made commercially (supply chain expectations on farmers) and politically, (legislation) and we saw numerous examples of where policy wasn’t practical or was impossible to hit.

Reflection questions

• Particularly in Georgia, we were engrossed in a culture that really celebrates time, sharing, food, family and community. We got a glimpse of this during covid, we experienced joy in slowing down, sharing and celebrating small things. What happened where we so quickly again lost site of what matters?
• The world is chasing wealth, power and success… has anyone defined what is enough? Is this possible? When will we get there? We experienced vast differences in the emphasis of the aforementioned based on socioeconomic status. Is there an opportunity for more global policy and program dialogue here so it hits the ground where impact is needed and implementation happens.
• The world moves from developing to developed through agriculture. There are opportunities here currently to really move the needle. What policies are needed to protect people, the environments and communities in this transition to make sure wealth is shared and not squandered?
• What can we do to increase the health of people globally. Good food is being produced, yet people are eating highly processed, additive inclusive food and health metrics are dropping? I feel like this question gets asked a lot, but no-one that I'm aware of has been able to nail this... because, economics and logistics? If we could move the needle, what would it look like?

Leadership and human centred reflections

• The importance of getting out of our own echo chambers can’t be overstated. Tapping into the unconscious incompetence is such a powerful leadership and growth piece. It helps with strategy, risk and identifying opportunity. Do it, just do it.
• In groups settings, as in life, leave your ego (the one that thinks you are right, better than or more important than others) at the door. Instead bring a curious mindset and your ears. Be an elephant (two ears and nosey), not a hippo (big mouth)!
• The need to spend time reflecting after big things (and in life) to capitalise on the growth and learning. I’m currently sitting on a beach in Crete and I can’t tell you how valuable time has been in pulling together the enormity of what I’ve just learned and experienced.
• Happiness is tied directly to having gone through situations that need resilience and a sense of community to survive. The happiest people I came across were in Georgia, Zimbabwe and Kununurra. When things are easy all the time, there is nothing to celebrate. Get out of your comfort zone.

I'd be really interested in peoples thoughts and initial reactions to the above.