The Success of Implementing a Sustainable Rice Systems Development in Tanzania

Tanzanians who participated in the System Rice Intensification training shared their delightful stories of how implementing a new rice growing system improved their lives and wellbeing. These interesting experiences can be a motivation to others. Tanzania implemented a bottom-up approach resulting in a more inclusive initiative, which finally led to achieving a successful outcome. Tanzania is one of the participating countries in the “Partnership for Sustainable Rice Systems Development in

In the news: UN launches Decade of Family Farming

Family and farm represent a unity that continuously co-evolves, fulfilling economic, environmental, social and cultural functions of the wider rural economy and within territorial networks in which they are embedded. Family farmers run diversified agricultural systems and preserve traditional food products, contributing to both a balanced diet and the protection of the world’s agro-biodiversity. Safeguarding local cultures, they spend their incomes mostly within local and regional markets, thus generating many

An urban migrant makes his own luck in organic farming

Sibongile Sityebi heads up an urban agricultural masterpiece, supported by Ntombesine and Vuyokazi Wulana, two demure but hard working women from the area. When Sibongile, first arrived in Cape Town from the Eastern Cape in 2008, he discovered a garden while exploring his new home. Unemployed at the time, he approached the garden’s owner, Gertrude Cuba, offering to help by clearing out grass. That led on to laying pipes, amongst

Voice of Kigezi wins inaugural Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio

On Saturday evenings at 6 p.m., if you tune to Voice of Kigezi on the airwaves in southwestern Uganda, you can hear a program called B’Omugaiga. This is a program about farming, perfect in a highland region where farming is the main industry. But it’s not just farming advice that is discussed in this program. The production team also makes sure to touch on topics that are close to home

A parliamentarian boosts youth engagement in agriculture through radio

Radio Medumba is a rural radio station located in the Bangangté sub-division, Ndé division, West region of Cameroon. Created in August 2000, it has made the rural world its focus with the slogan :  ‘the station at the service of local development’. Agriculture occupies a place of choice in its grid. Since its creation, it devotes two hours a week to farm radio programs presented in French and ‘Medumba’, the

Nakolo village women's group excels in shea butter production

Shea production is a growing sector with its produce (shea butter) having great benefit to health, skin and hair. Shea butter is an extract from the nuts of the Karite tree fruits. This tree grows majorly in Africa and has been used for various health and body remedies for years. It is produced by crushing the nuts through a machine. These crushed nuts are further put out under the sun

The Bangangté Local Council prioritizes women’s empowerment

The 23rd edition of the World Rural Women’s Day celebrated under the theme ‘Empowering rural women through the development of effective partnerships’ has given the Bangangté Local Council the opportunity to revitalize local governance approaches to better align rural women to its empowerment mission. For quite some time now, this Local Council in the West region of Cameroon, which covers a population of about 215 000 inhabitants, has realized the need

Community radio stations unite to build peace - Part 1

The role of radio as source of information mustn’t be underrated, despite TV, Internet, social media and the still existing printed press. Especially in Africa, radio plays an important role in informing and educating the people. Media can contribute to dialogue and understanding but they can also be a factor in generating social and ethnic tension through stereotyping and inaccurate reporting. This assumption is the entry point of the Kenyan

Growing community: Conservation agriculture over the airwaves

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 —

Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio

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.