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In this episode, hosts Dewald Kirsten and Louise Brodie are joined by Charles St Clair-Bolam, Broadcast Technology & Live Streaming Specialist, and Jonathan Genis, Broadcast Technician & Live Production Specialist.
Together, they revisit one of the most intense and unconventional chapters in recent agricultural history: conducting live, government-to-government inspections for China during COVID, often from the most remote packhouses and orchards in Southern Africa.
With borders closed, travel restricted and infrastructure stretched to its limits, this team had to engineer real-time video inspections under conditions that included load shedding, zero signal zones, failing generators, wildlife encounters, extreme weather, and high-stakes international scrutiny.
What unfolds is a raw, honest and often hilarious behind-the-scenes account of how technology, teamwork and sheer determination kept South Africa’s fruit export systems moving when failure was not an option.
Key Takeaways:
•What it really took to run live international inspections from remote farms
•How broadcast technology was adapted under extreme constraints
•Lessons learned from crisis-driven innovation in agriculture
•Why trust, teamwork and problem-solving mattered more than perfect infrastructure
•How these experiences reshaped the way agri-tech and inspections are approached today
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