Matefie Meja is a single mother of three who farms a half-hectare of land in Chifisa, Ethiopia. It’s intensive work. As she has no ox to plow the land, weeding is a time consuming chore for her, one that leaves her little time to complete the other work she must do to keep her farm running smoothly. Recently, thanks to a radio program that explained conservation agriculture to her —
Nonhlanhla Joye is known as a Farmer, a Social Entrepreneur and the Founder of Umgibe Farming Organics and Training Institute who is passionate about food security and community empowerment. Umgibe’s main purpose is to train and promote farmer-owned, well-governed, well-managed, profitable & equitable cooperatives and small scale farmers. Ma Joye as she is known in the community, was born in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) province in South Africa. She is the
Farmers require relevant, timely and continuous information and advice regarding historic climate variability, probabilistic seasonal forecasts, and monitoring and short-lead information about growing season weather. This information can help them to make informed decisions about their farming practices and enable decision-makers to understand and act on the information (Tall et al., 2014). These services are especially important for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, where up to 95% of crop production is
Farm Radio International has created a new award to recognize radio programs that address the issue of gender equality and create opportunities to share the voices of rural women. Farm Radio International invites stations and program production teams to apply for the Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio. Liz Hughes was a board member of Farm Radio International who was passionate about broadcasting and a champion of gender equality.
Fondation Hirondelle, in partnership with local media and youth organizations, is creating ‘Studio Yafa’ in Burkina Faso. In the local language “Yafa” means “mediation” or “finding common ground.” The first productions, in radio and then multimedia, will be launched in February 2019. A team of Burkinabe journalists supervised and trained by Fondation Hirondelle experts, will produce weekly radio magazines, as well as videos and articles for social networks. The main
One hundred years after the invention of Radio, this technology remains an essential tool in the education of peoples, especially the poor. This is demonstrated by Radio Taboo, a new radio station powered by solar energy in the village of Nditam on the Tikar Plain, Ngambé Tikar Subdivision, Mbam and Kim Division of the Centre region of Cameroon. The methods applied by those in charge of this radio station are
Radio, more than any other medium, speaks the language of farmers. Farmers count on radio to provide the information they need, when they need it. However, too often, radio lets farmers down. It doesn’t have to be this way- stemming from our numerous interviews conducted across radio stations in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, we are publishing a list of tips for broadcasters who want to improve their programs.
Radio is celebrated world over for its life changing attributes especially in developing countries where the development agenda remains a common denominator of all engagements. The UN, set aside the 13th February as a day to celebrate radio. This year’s edition of the World Radio Day(WRD) is commemorated under the theme, Radio: Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace, a theme which is most appropriate to countries like Zimbabwe given its perpetual instabilities
Nowadays, compelling issues such as climate change and food security require primarily multidisciplinary approaches and multistakeholder action in the process of social learning for adaptive livelihoods. This implies an increasing demand for information, knowledge and participation that puts the need for planned communication activities at the centre of development initiatives. Within this framework, it is essential to support rural knowledge institutions and national programmes for climate change and food security
This document has been prepared to inspire reflection about the role of communication in advancing family farming. It includes an analysis of examples of ComDev approaches applied to smallholder farming and rural development and the issues that they encompass: food security, natural resource management, rural livelihoods, agricultural innovation, and capacity development. One emerging concept is that of “rural communication services,” which seeks to enhance rural livelihoods by facilitating equitable access
