Rural Communication Services

Malian broadcaster serves farmers with informative, interesting, interactive radio programs

Seydou Camara describes himself as a “country lover.” And, as the son of a farmer, he knows a lot about agriculture. These qualities help him to prepare his radio programs, and particularly to prepare for field visits. Mr. Camara has worked at Radio Wassoulou in Yanfolila, Mali, for nearly 10 years, where he is a host. “Naturally, I like to serve people and in my opinion, media is a great

Apply for the Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio

The Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio recognizes excellent radio programs that serve women listeners. Winning radio programs explore and advance gender equality; for example, by sharing the experiences and opinions of women, addressing topics of importance to women, underlining the role of men in gender equality, etc. The award is given to the team of people who make this program happen, including the manager(s), producer(s), host(s), presenter(s), reporter(s), technician(s), and

Small-scale farmers use radio and mobile phones to tell decision makers what they need to succeed in a changing climate

Though climate change, food system shocks and inflation are intensifying the challenges faced by small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, they want to remain in their homes. According to a report released today, migration is the least viable option for African small-scale farmers. Of the thousands of farmers who participated in the four-country survey, around half also said that affordability, the availability of jobs and access to inputs had improved since

Webinar: VOICES Standards for enhancing interactive radio programs

Farm Radio International will be hosting a webinar to discuss our VOICES Standards for interactive radio programs. As a broadcaster, you want your radio program to be useful, interesting – even empowering, for rural people. And you want it to have a wide audience of both women and men. To help you, we have pulled together “best practices” of broadcasters, and have grouped them in a way that will be

Digitalizing agriculture in rural Senegal

Digital tools can help offset uncertainties in weather patterns caused by climate change. In Nioro, Senegal, Mamadou Drame, a father of four children, now looks down at a screen instead of up at the skies to understand the weather and know what to plant. Historical rain cycles have become increasingly unreliable because of climate change, upsetting patterns of planting and harvesting. Thankfully, digital innovations have stepped in, assisting him to

Do all collaborations require funding?

During the month of July, Farm Radio International is facilitating an online discussion for YenKasa Africa, under the theme of Collaboration for Effective Rural Communication Services. This discussion brings together media – including Farm Radio’s radio partners – and civil society organizations. The discussion is taking place online, via WhatsApp, in a group for Anglophone participants and a group for francophone participants. This is a summary of the final week

YenKasa Africa Discussion WEEK 3: ALL ABOUT GENDER AND INTERVIEWS

During the month of July, Farm Radio International is facilitating an online discussion for YenKasa Africa, under the theme of Collaboration for Effective Rural Communication Services. This discussion brings together media – including Farm Radio’s radio partners – and civil society organizations. The discussion is taking place online, via WhatsApp, in a group for Anglophone participants and a group for francophone participants. This is a summary of the Anglophone discussion.

Zimbabwe embraces FAO Digital Village Initiative

The Digital Village Initiative (DVI) has been met with great enthusiasm and support from various stakeholders, including government officials and rural smallholder farmers. This emerged from the DVI scoping field assessments that were carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Zimbabwe in partnership with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MoLAFWRD). “The purpose of the scoping mission was to assess,

What does it mean to collaborate? Insights from our online discussion

From July 3 to July 28, YenKasa Africa is bringing together media organizations and stakeholder groups such as farmers’ organizations, extension workers, researchers, women’s and youth organizations, and other civil society organizations to discuss how collaboration can support effective rural communication services. The discussion is facilitated by Farm Radio International and mainly takes place via WhatsApp. The discuss brings together more than 700 individuals. In week 1, participants introduced themselves