Data, Land, and Justice | Faith Burn on Building Agriculture That Works for Everyone
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What does it mean to build an agricultural system that is not just more efficient; but more just?
In this episode of Let's Talk Data, Lebogang Langa sits down with Faith Burn, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa. Faith has led technology across some of South Africa's most complex organisations - Eskom, Novartis, Tsebo, and now Land Bank. In this conversation, she speaks candidly about the digital divide facing rural farmers, the ethics of agricultural data ownership, and what it would take for South Africa to move from talking about inclusion to actually building it.
In this episode of Let's Talk Data, Lebogang Langa sits down with Faith Burn, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa. Faith has led technology across some of South Africa's most complex organisations - Eskom, Novartis, Tsebo, and now Land Bank. In this conversation, she speaks candidly about the digital divide facing rural farmers, the ethics of agricultural data ownership, and what it would take for South Africa to move from talking about inclusion to actually building it.
Chapters
- 00:12 Introduction and career journey across industries
- 03:10 Cross-industry technology leadership and data culture variations
- 07:29 Purpose-driven leadership and Land Bank's Developmental Mandate
- 10:31 Combined technology and operations role at Land Bank
- 13:17 Digital divide and technology's role for smallholder farmers
- 16:58 Applying AI in South Africa's agricultural context
- 20:47 Data ownership and benerfit shring in agriculture
- 22:47 Farmers as data producers vs data owners
- 24:45 Digital transformation: efficiency vs accessibility
- 28:14 Designing for accessibility in technlogy decisions
- 30:03 Technology as equalizer vs gap reinforcer
- 32:33 Technology's role in building climate resilience
- 34:45 Autonomous farms and cultural context
- 37:36 Leading technology through organsational transformation
- 41:26 Personal journey and advice for women in technology
- 44:13 Vision for Just Agricultural Future
