Rural Communication Services

Using the Talking Book to amplify and widen the reach of extension education in underserved, rural communities
Rural Communication Services

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Learning positive agricultural techniques and health practices can reduce poverty, malnutrition, and diseases in developing countries. For millions of rural people, low literacy and remoteness are barriers to information access. Extension services are limited because of poorly maintained roads. When materials are available, people can’t read. Local dialects are another barrier. Literacy Bridge Ghana uses a low-cost, battery-operated audio computer, called the Talking Book, to bring life-changing knowledge to marginalized

Lessons learnt on using ICTs to scale agricultural innovations
Rural Communication Services

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Despite the well-documented advantages of agricultural innovations, there are significant hurdles for farmers to adopt them, such as: lack of information reaching remote farmers, ineffective national extension service, and input supply systems that do not respond to men and women farmers’ needs. This denies millions of smallholder farmers the opportunity to learn and apply improved and efficient agronomic practices that improve productivity and household food security. These were some of

Using ICTs to get innovations into the hands of farmers
Rural Communication Services

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Millions of smallholder farmers in remote areas do not have access to information that will help them with their farming needs. They are thus denied the opportunity to learn and apply improved and efficient agronomic practices that improve productivity and household food security. The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada, designed a program to increase collaboration between

CABI films fight Fall armyworm
Rural Communication Services

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The peace and quiet of 200 villages in Northern Ghana was shattered in May and June this year with the arrival of CABI-sponsored village-based video screenings.  CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International) is an international not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. “We wanted to explore new and innovative ways of getting information to

Using ICTs to get innovations into the hands of farmers
Rural Communication Services

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Millions of smallholder farmers in remote areas do not have access to information that will help them with their farming needs.  They are thus denied opportunity to learn and apply improved and efficient agronomic practices that improve productivity and household food security. The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada, designed a program to increase collaboration between farmers,

The Listening Post: Consulting with farmers
Rural Communication Services

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“What change would most help you, your family, and your neighbours earn enough money and have enough good food for the whole year?” a recorded voice on a mobile phone asks Sara Masanja, a woman from Shinyanga Vijijini, a rural area in northern Tanzania. “Dial 1 for more support in farming, fishing and livestock keeping; 2 for training and education; 3 for improved healthcare; or 4 for better roads, electricity,

MP3 recordings bring farm tips in languages farmers in rural areas understand
Rural Communication Services

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Rural farmers in Gwanda, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe are generally cut off from vital government agriculture services by virtue of distance. The solution is: cheaply-recorded MP3 podcasts that are bringing awareness of weather, crop prices, or pest control. The problem is that Matabeleland South is one of Zimbabwe´s driest and underdeveloped region. The soil is rocky, agriculture colleges are rare, agriculture technicians shun the vast district, sporadic flooding can ruin crops,