About Podcast
This Episode is Sponsored By:
In a world where food security depends on getting practical help to the field, systems that reach smallholder farmers matter most. Sharon Idahosa, founder and CEO of LIFEX Agriculture Initiative (Nigeria), blends grassroots training, investor matchmaking, and media her Let’s Talk Agriculture podcast and Sedona Media to turn operational excellence into real farmer impact.
Sharon explains the pivot from university to purposive entrepreneurship, how she built a five-person, mission-first team, and why she refuses partnerships that conflict with her core values of quality and transparency. She also shares tactical outreach: local radio, Bank of Agriculture contacts, field visits, and low-tech phone strategies that extend reach beyond smartphones.
Key Takeaways:
- How to turn personal passion into a mission-driven NGO that sustains itself with media and partnerships.
- Why naming and protecting one or two core values simplifies tough decisions as you scale.
- Low-cost outreach playbook for hard-to-reach farmers: radio, field visits, and simple phones.
- How to attract mission-aligned early hires who learn on the job and grow with the venture.
- Ways to use storytelling and a podcast as operational tools to build credibility, mentors, and funding.
Join Sharon for a concise, practical conversation about making operational excellence work where it matters most the farm.
- Clarify Business Vision : Learn to align teams around a shared direction and strategy.
- Select the Right People : Learn to use tools to ensure the right people are in the right seats.
- Track Key Metrics : Learn to build and use a simple weekly scorecard.
- Set and Achieve Rocks : Learn to implement 90-day priorities with weekly accountability.
- Document Core Processes : Learn to standardize workflows for scalability and consistency.
Special Guest: Sharon Idahosa, Founder & CEO – LIFEX Agriculture Initiative and Podcast Host of Let’s Talk Agriculture!
Location: Bayelsa, NIGERIA
Air Date: Sept. 12, 2021
Websites:
- Sharon Idahosa: Sharon’s personal website dedicated to her agricultural consultancy work and advocacy.
- Sidona Media: Sharon’s media company that specializes in content such as videos, podcasts, and e-books for the agricultural sector.
- Nourishing Africa: Sharon’s profile on this site.
Podcast:
- Let’s Talk Agriculture!: Sharon’s weekly podcast where she interviews stakeholders in the agricultural space to educate and farmers (and others).
- Let’s Talk Agriculture – Entrepreneurship: listen to Sharon’s interview of Alicia!
Books:
- Agriculture Unlocked: Sharon’s book
- Smart Money Woman: An African Girl’s Journey to Financial Freedom: by Arese Ugwu.
- Writer, Producer & Host: Alicia Butler Pierre
- Podcast Editor: Olanrewaju Adeyemo
- Video Editor: Gladys Jimenez
- Transcription: Outsource Global
- Show Notes: Hashim Tale
- Sponsors: HubSpot, ThinkSmart Whiteboard
More About Guest, Sharon Idahosa:
Sharon Idahosa is the founder and CEO of LIFEX Agriculture Initiative which she started in the year 2020 as a way to show support to rural farmers with little or no opportunity to thrive in the agricultural sector by carrying out training/workshops, skill acquisition to initiate sustainable agriculture and improve food security. She’s an Agriculturist, Advocate, and an Educationist; a visionary leader whose core values are Transparency and Excellence. Sharon is a graduate of the prestigious Benson Idahosa University. Her educational background in Agriculture enabled her to channel her mindset to the pressing issues the agricultural sector is faced with and she has taken a bold step to contribute and improve the agricultural sector.Sharon specializes in agriculture articles, events, and podcasts. She uses different communication methods to communicate to a larger audience to spread the word about agriculture. She has made episodes with key people from different organizations including FAO, Climate Resilience Network (CRN), Corporate Farmers international, Novatero, DigiExt, and CSAYN – all centering around agriculture and making an impact.
More About Host, Alicia Butler Pierre:
Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc. Her career in operations began over 20 years ago while working as an engineer in various chemical plants and oil refineries. She invented the Kasennu™ framework for business infrastructure and authored, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. It is the world’s first published book on business infrastructure for small businesses. Alicia hosts the weekly Business Infrastructure podcast with a global audience across 53 countries. 
More About Sponsor, HubSpot:
HubSpot offers a full platform of marketing, sales, customer service, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software — plus the methodology, resources, and support — to help businesses. Their CRM platform is powered by the same database, so everyone in your organization — Marketing, Sales, Service & Operations — is working off the same system of record. This allows for a smoother handoff between teams and results in a more delightful experience for your customers. More About Sponsor, ThinkSmart Whiteboard:
Thinksmart Whiteboard is a Windows App that turns your Tablet PC into a shared whiteboard. It allows you to create a whiteboard on your computer screen, then allows other people to write onto your whiteboard, even if they are in another location! Learn more.