Farm Radio International’s Annual Report 2010/2011 is now available online. The following is the Executive Director’s Report.

The name Farm Radio International seems to capture the imagination. When people first hear about Farm Radio International, they often ask: “where can we find you on the radio dial?” or “how many listeners do you have?” Some wonder “do you distribute radios?” or even “do you set up new radio stations?”

These are all reasonable questions. But, in fact, since our foundation in 1979, Farm Radio International’s role has been to help broadcasters at existing radio stations improve the quality and effectiveness of their programs for small-scale farmers.

For most of the years since, we have provided this support in the form of radio scripts about farming and rural development issues and practices. The script service responded to the reality that most rural radio broadcasters in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to the information they need – in the format they need – to create accurate, relevant, engaging programs for small-scale farmers.

Over the last year, we have made some exciting changes to our services. Our core mission remains the same, but we are working in a variety of new ways to achieve it.

Recognizing that radio stations need more than scripts to serve small-scale farmers and rural communities, we have enhanced our script service to a more comprehensive Resources for Broadcasters strategy. This includes our electronic news service, Farm Radio Weekly, and the development of an online social network. As before, our Resources for Broadcasters are available, free of charge, for any and all radio practitioners to use.

We have also added the new core strategies of Impact Programming and Training and Standards.

Impact Programming involves working directly with a select group of radio stations to plan and implement a radio strategy that aims to have a specific impact in a particular area. For example, Farm Radio International developed the Participatory Radio Campaign (PRC) methodology through the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Over the past year, we established the capacity to implement PRCs beyond AFRRI, by opening offices in Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania, and forming strategic partnerships in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi, and Uganda.

We also launched a new Training and Standards service that helps radio station staff gain the skills they need to research, produce, and sustain high-quality rural radio programming. At the same time, Farm Radio International has become a leading expert in the integration of new communication technologies with radio, and is helping broadcasters take advantage of the opportunities offered by these developments.

Our expansion into these new areas would not have been possible without the remarkable support of our donors, volunteers, partners, dedicated and capable staff, and strong Board of Directors. In particular, I am indebted to Doug Ward, the President and Chair of the Board of Farm Radio International, for inspirational leadership grounded in deep and rich experience in radio and social justice.

Kevin Perkins, Executive Director

Read more of the Annual Report.

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Tags: Africa, Annual Report, Executive Director, farmers, Radio

Yesterday, we sent out our December e-Newsletter.  Click here to read our latest updates.

Subscribe for free, click here.

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Wednesday is market day in the town of Fana, Mali. There’s a busy energy in the air as farmers, traders, and other villagers gather to buy, sell and talk. In the middle of it all is Fatogoma Sanago, program director at Radio Fanaka. He uses his digital audio recorder to capture the sounds of people bargaining and chickens clucking. Fatogoma uses these recordings, along with interviews and information about market prices, for his program Aw Ni Sugu, or “Thank you for being at the market.”

Farm Radio International has named Fatogoma the 2011 recipient of the George Atkins Communications Award. The award recognizes rural radio broadcasters for their outstanding contribution to food security and poverty reduction in low-income countries. Fatogoma is responsible for all programming on rural issues at Radio Fanaka. He is also a presenter.

Fatogoma began producing Aw Ni Sugu as part of Farm Radio International’s African Farm Radio Research Initiative. He says he loves hosting the program, which helps farmers connect to discuss market challenges and solutions. After each broadcast, he takes questions from listeners via phone calls and text messages. He is proud that this program has informed farmers about ways to earn more money at the market, for example, by vaccinating their chickens.

Fatogoma’s career in radio began in 1995, when he came to Fana to visit his grandmother. At the time, Fatogoma’s uncle worked for Radio Fanaka, and Fatogoma decided he wanted to learn everything about radio production. He accompanied radio hosts (and carried their bags) when they visited villages. In the studio, he followed technicians. One day, Fatogoma was hired as a technician’s assistant, and his career took off from there.

On hearing that he was the winner of the George Atkins Communications Award, Fatogoma said:

I am very happy to receive this prize. It gives me more strength to work more with farmers.

An article about Fatogoma Sanago’s George Atkins Communications Award win was featured in the Ontario Farmer: Broadcaster Brings Agricultural News to Rural Africa.

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Tags: Africa, agricultural extension, awards, Broadcaster, farmers, George Atkins, Radio

 

In addition to sharing radio scripts, broadcasters can share radio programs, access resources for their shows for farmers, participate in discussion groups, and participate in on-line training activities.

As Doug Ward (Chair of the Board for Farm Radio International) put it:

in the 1980’s and 1990’s Farm Radio International provided a one-way ‘top down’ service, sending radio scripts out to broadcasters for them to use in their programs. With the launch of Barza, we now offer opportunities for peer-to-peer sharing across a large network of broadcasters. It’s an exciting new era.

We would like to thank the International Development Research Center as well as the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) for supporting this initiative. We would also like to thank Digital4Good, a web development company based in Cape Town, South Africa, who worked with the Farm Radio International team to develop Barza.

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Tags: Africa, Barza, Broadcaster, training

Farm Radio Weekly (FRW) is Farm Radio International’s weekly electronic news bulletin. It prides itself on making the farmer’s voice and perspective heard. To mark Work AIDS Day, Farm Radio Weekly brings three inspiring new stories, written especially for Farm Radio Weekly. The common theme is living healthily.

From Kenya, we hear how Robert Amakobe started up a pioneering men’s support group. Find out how, through growing vegetables, they have overcome stigma and become well-known for assisting others in their community.  Read more.

James Ndlovu from Zimbabwe was diagnosed HIV positive five years ago. After counseling, he decided that one way to improve his situation was through hard work on his farm. Read how his life has changed since his diagnosis. Read more.

In Malawi, John Chaoneka decided to learn more about herbal medicines and the nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetables. He tested positive for HIV in 2010 and now runs a clinic from his house, supplying hundreds of people with treatments to help boost immunity. Read more.

FRW will feature three more original stories to mark World AIDS Day on December 13, 2011.

Subscribe to FRW for free: click here.

Farm Radio International would like to especially thank the Canadian Auto Workers – Social Justice Fund for their support of Farm Radio Weekly’s African Service Bureaus that allow us to feature original and unique stories from the perspective of the African smallholder farmer.

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Tags: Africa, Farm Radio Weekly, farmers, Kenya, Malawi, World AIDS Day, Zimbabwe

The fall edition of Farm Radio International’s supporter newsletter, Network News is now available online.  To read it, click here.

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Using the ”edutainment” approach of combining entertainment with educational messages about climate change adaptation, the radio drama features Ribadu, a Fulani herdsman who weaves an intriguing storyline based on the lives of ordinary women and men who seek to balance life with livelihood amidst unpredictable weather patterns. The program was produced in two languages, Hausa and Fulfulde, and aired by nine radio stations with two additional stations expressing their interest in carrying the program for free. The storyline features numerous farming improvements such as rainwater harvesting, preventing soil erosion and managing crop pests and diseases. Each episode highlights the ways in which northern Nigerian farmers develop coping strategies to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change on their livelihoods.

The project was a complex undertaking with dramatic events behind the production scene itself. Tragically, over the course of the project, ARDA faced the deaths of a wonderful scriptwriter and a supportive broadcaster. There were delays caused by painstaking adjustments of the technical content to fit local farming conditions and to ensure that the uncertainty of climatic variability in northern Nigeria was taken into account. As well, the project involved an iterative process of data collection and analysis to inform pre-broadcast (baseline) and ex-poste (end-line) surveys of 3,000 farmers.

As the Hausa proverb, “In Kidi ya Chanza”, that gave this radio drama its name suggests:  “when the drumbeats change, the dancers have to change their steps.”

Just how effective can a radio drama be in educating farmers to help them adapt to climate change?

• The evaluation work of the radio drama found that:

• 78% of respondents were familiar with the radio drama

• 84% of female and 68% of male listeners stated the program increased their awareness of climate change adaptation

• The vast majority (92.8%!) of respondents who gained awareness from the program reported that they took action

Radio Listening Clubs reinforced listener engagement with the storylines, ensuring that each episode was eagerly awaited. The evaluation found that the groups also encouraged individual farmers to take action on their farms to mitigate the effects of climate change.

TO READ the full script of the drama, click here.

By Dr. Helen Hambly Odame, University of Guelph

Farm Radio International Board member

Farm Radio International wishes to express its sincere thanks to ARDA and its partners for the opportunity to work together on such an innovative project.

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Tags: Africa, climate change, farmers, Network News, nigeria, Radio, radio drama

To mark the International Day of Rural Women on October 15th, Farm Radio Weekly (FRW) featured an article from one of our two FRW Service Bureau stringers, Pius Sawa from Kenya. Farm Radio Weekly is our free electronic newsletter that reaches over 2,000 subscribers.

Florence Nzambuli is an inspiration to many women in her home village of Mutomo, in Kitui South Constituency, eastern Kenya. It is difficult to make a living through farming in this dry region. But with Ms. Nzambuli’s guidance, a women’s group has found a way to cope with drought and rising food prices.

It last rained in Mutomo in 2009. Ms. Nzambuli had a good harvest of millet and cassava that year. But many others did not. So Ms. Nzambuli shared the harvest with her community. She says,

Imagine a mother comes to me crying, asking for some food to take to her starving children. I would rather fast and give [food] to the children.

Ms. Nzambuli says that mothers bear the burden of feeding their children and husbands in hard times. With relief food contaminated, no livestock to rely on, and no paying jobs available, mothers in Mutomo put their heads together to work on a solution.

In 2010, with guidance from Ms. Nzambuli, the women formed a village savings scheme. The group has 20 members, and each member contributes 100 Kenyan shillings, about one dollar. The group raises around 2000 shillings, and then lends the money to one member. Ms. Nzambuli explains, “When you get the money, you travel to the nearest town and buy vegetables like tomatoes, onions and cabbage. You come [back] and start selling them.”

The women meet once a month. Each month, the borrower repays one hundred shillings plus five per cent interest, until her loan is repaid. According to Ms. Nzambuli, this is how the women cope with the drought and with rising food prices.

The group is not registered. They are simply helping one another as neighbours. Ms. Nzambuli encourages women in other villages to form similar groups and raise money to be used as capital for each member’s income-generating activity. She says, “This is the best way for us, because we are friends and we cannot punish mothers who fail to pay.” If a member fails to make her payment, she is asked to do some work for the group.

Ms. Nzambuli says that, as individuals, the women cannot borrow money from banks or micro-finance institutions because of the conditions they impose. In fact, the women fear these institutions. They worry what the banks might do if the women defaulted on their loans. She notes,

As women, we don’t have land titles, so paying back such loans is a danger. Imagine if someone came to your home and took away your donkey. What would you use to fetch water from miles away?

The drought continues in Mutomo. The women don’t know when the rains will come, so they pray. But Ms. Nzambuli and her women’s group have started digging shallow wells. If they find water, they will start kitchen gardens, planting vegetables in sacks and other containers. She offers some strong parting words of advice:

People should go back to the old food crops like millet and cassava. These crops a are drought-resistant and they can mature fast.

Subscribe to Farm Radio Weekly for free.

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Tags: Africa, climate change, Farm Radio Weekly, farmers, Food Security, Kenya

One of the keys to achieving food security in Africa is ensuring its millions of smallholder farmers are able to produce enough food for their families plus a surplus to sell in local markets.

To get a better idea of the challenge facing a typical African farm family, we’ve identified one through Farm Radio International, a Canadian organization that delivers information to farmers through 320 radio station partners in sub-Saharan Africa. We’re keeping track of her farm activities through the year.

The articles are written by Jean Paul Ntezimana, who works with Radio Salus, a station which reaches 90 per cent of Rwanda. Currently, he co-ordinates a radio program for farmers about land conflicts with Search for Common Ground in Rwanda, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that aims to help communities deal with conflicts in a constructive way. If you have questions or comments for our African farm family, you can provide them in the Post A Comment section at the end the original article.

She talks slowly with a low voice and does not move quickly as usual. However, she is not sick. She has just given birth to a baby boy, her third son.

Last Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 28) Justine Uwingabire gave birth to a baby boy in Kigali City. Niyonzima Evariste, her husband, smiles every time he picks up a phone call. He talks as he moves around in the hospital, changing phone sets to pick a new call.

He is answering phone calls from his friends and he answers calls from his wife’s phone because she is too tired to talk.

“She is now unable to talk on phone because she has just given birth to a baby boy,” says Evariste, smiling.

Supported by Imbaraga Farmers’ Union, Justine delivered her third son in Hopital La Croix du Sud in Kigali, two hours’ drive from Kiramuruzi where she lives.

This is where we can find specialists,” Justine says to two women around her bed. I am lucky, I have given birth without complications,” she says. “I think after only one day I will go home.”

Friday afternoon, a car from Imabaraga Farmers’ Union picks up Justine to take her and her new child home.

At home

Following Rwandan customs, Justine moves from her regular bedroom to another room where neighbours can meet her to say hello to “the newcomer.”

There is a steady stream of women coming and going, some accompanied by children. Some women wash clothes, others are working in the kitchen, while others sit with Justine in her new room sharing juice and other soft drinks. People move in and out of the house. Men sit with Evariste, drinking some soft drinks.

One of her sons, Niyotwagira Prince, has come home to look at “a small white boy.” He can look at the baby and wants to touch. He asks many questions to his mum.

According to Rwandan culture, after eight days the newborn will be given his name. Neighbours will come and meet at Justine’s home in the evening. Many of them will be children of the village.

Justine will offer food and drinks. Everyone will have to give a name to the newborn. After, his father Evariste will give him a name which will be the official name of the child.

Farming activities slow down

Justine has suspended activities on the farm because of her pregnancy, and will not return to work for a while. She has had some others help plant her beans.

“I have sent some people to work on farm for me,” she says. “I know they will do as they understand, I have no choice,” she added.

I will wait for the next season. Now I cannot work. Children need care, immunization, et cetera. I will care for my child and reduce very much my activities on farm.”

Now, Justine has three sons. However, for now she does not want to say whether she would also like daughters.

Also in this series:

Following a farm family in sub-Saharan Africa, April 29, 2011

Our farmer visits France, Aug. 17, 2011

This year’s sorghum harvest is disappointing, Aug. 17

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Tags: Africa, farmers, Food Security, Media Coverage, Radio, Rwanda

The following article appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, October 5, 2011.

We’ve all grown accustomed to the hype around Hockey Night in Canada, a phenomenon that has hockey fans glued to their big-screen TVs and those not-so-crazy about the game leaving the room.

Well back in the mid-1940s, Monday was Farmers’ Night in Canada, when upwards of 1,300 small groups of farmers coast to coast clustered around a radio to listen to national broadcasts discussing current topics of the day and then following up with their own discussion locally.

And it was those forums that became the genesis for a modern non-government organization that connects small-scale farmers in 35 countries.

The National Farm Radio Forum, a joint educational project of the CBC, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Canadian Association for Adult Education, was a valuable and popular extension vehicle for farmers during the postwar era. People living in isolated rural communities were hungry for the latest information and radio was an efficient way of reaching them.

The forums addressed big issues such as farm living standards, new science as it pertained to agriculture, agriculture as a risky business and social security for the farmer.

On Nov. 4, 1946, for example, 32 forums in Manitoba met and discussed farm taxes. “Manitoba forums find it difficult to believe that only about five per cent of Canadian farmers file income tax returns,” a report from the forum said. “The reasons they give for this are many, such as, all farmers do not keep accounts because they haven’t the time to spend on bookkeeping, income tax forms are too hard to understand, failure of the government to force tax returns (and) the average farmer just makes a bare living at best.”

A later forum concluded the reason there was a lack of farm home improvement was also related to a lack of funds and time. Farm home improvement was considered an important issue of the day, as noted by J.E. Brownlee, vice-president of the United Grain Growers, in his annual address to members. “We want to see (in) Western Canada, a land of comfortable homes. We want to see farm homes so equipped that our boys and girls will recognize the real opportunities and pleasures of rural life. They will not stay on the farms until we do.”

Dubbed “the world’s greatest listening group activity,” the forums were a way to reach farmers and generate discussion, but also a means of connecting with small, rural communities.

Fast-forward three decades and CBC farm radio broadcaster George Atkins was travelling on a bus in Zambia talking to locally based colleagues. When he asked what the local broadcast was about that day, he was told it was all about tractor maintenance. His next question was how many farmers in that country had tractors. Only a handful.

Resource-starved radio stations were forced to use extension material supplied to them from elsewhere and much of it had little relevance to what small-scale farmers were doing. That made no sense at all to Atkins, then a 25-year veteran of farm broadcasting.

Atkins returned to Canada and began developing a charity based on a radio forum similar to what had worked so well in Canada, a vehicle that networked local producers and linked them with information they needed, not simply what was available.

Instead of tractor repair, commercial fertilizers and pesticides, the radio scripts discussed how to better raise oxen or fertilize fields with manure. Today, what is now known as Farm Radio International has become a powerful charitable organization that connects more than 250 participating radio partners in 35 African countries sharing practical information and stories based on meeting local needs.

Like the farm forums on the Prairies, these radio broadcasts don’t only deal with farming. They address community and life issues, such as breaking down the myths and taboos of AIDS. In recent years, the agency has become one of the many tools the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is using to empower and improve the lot of the world’s small-scale farmers.

And despite all of the new communications technology sweeping the globe, radio remains one of the most powerful and effective means of, as Farm Radio’s executive director Kevin Perkins puts it, taking good ideas and growing them to scale.

If anything, new technology serves to complement radio. People with cellphones can receive a text reminding them to tune in to an upcoming broadcast.

More than anything, this effort acknowledges the power of indigenous knowledge and of communities working together to solve common problems. It also recognizes that the only way local knowledge can survive is if it is freely shared.

 Laura Rance is editor of the Manitoba Co-operator. She can be reached at 792-4382 or by email: laura@fbcpublishing.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 5, 2011 B10

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Tags: Africa, farmers, Food Security, George Atkins, Media Coverage, Radio

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Even in very poor communities, radio penetration is vast. There are more than 800 million radios in developing countries. An average of one in ten people has a radio.

Who are We?
Farm Radio International is a Canadian-based, not-for-profit organization working in direct partnership with approximately 300 radio broadcasters in 39 African countries to fight poverty and food insecurity.


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