In Eastern Uganda’s Bugisu sub region, literacy remains a substantial barrier to development. Here, radio can reach a large number of poor people because it is affordable and uses little electricity. This is why Bugisu Cooperative Union (BCU) turned to radio. BCU is a Ugandan agricultural cooperative federation established in July 1954. Based in Mbale town, Eastern Uganda, the Cooperative Union was started by a group of coffee farmers led
Last year, Farm Radio International created a new award to recognize radio programs that address gender equality and create opportunities to share the voices of rural women. Farm Radio International is now inviting stations and program production teams to apply for the second annual Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio. Liz Hughes was a Farm Radio International board member who was passionate about broadcasting and a champion of gender
Zimbabwe’s government is appealing for aid to help ease the burden of hunger currently affecting millions of already suffering citizens. The drought is a result of poor yields from the 2018/19 summer cropping season which normally runs from November to March. Erratic rains in the whole of Southern Africa resulted in this drought. Zimbabwe has experienced recurring droughts over the years leading to shortage of cereals in the country. Thousands
By 2050, the global population of youth (ages 15-24 as defined by the UN) is projected to rise to 1.8 billion, with 35 percent estimated to live in Africa. This presents a challenge of creating economic opportunities for this growing segment of the population. Furthermore, the growing global demand for food and nutrition also presents a challenge, with some estimates citing a need to increase food availability by 70-100 percent.
Rural communities are faced with numerous challenges related to access to water for potable and productive uses. Rural residents, especially young women and girls, spend quite a significant amount of their productive time looking for water. In some cases, rural communities collect potable water from unprotected and unsafe sources. The situation has been exacerbated by the high frequencies and magnitudes of agricultural droughts in Zimbabwe which are on the increase.
Effective collaboration between broadcasters and stakeholder groups such as extension workers, researchers, and women’s organizations can help improve the quality of information received by farmers in radio programs. If you are a broadcaster and want to learn how to improve your collaborations with different stakeholder groups, then this e-discussion is for you! For four weeks, Farm Radio International will be offering an e-discussion for broadcasters and stakeholders on collaboration, from
This year, Farm Radio International is proud to present the George Atkins Communications Award to three passionate broadcasters who have long been dedicated to serving farmers and partnering with Farm Radio International. The three winners are: Ide Carine Tchounga, Radio Medumba, Cameroon Seydou Camara, Radio Wassoulou, Mali Matilda Amoah, Today’s FM, Ghana Ide Carine Tchounga started working at Radio Medumba in her village nearly 20 years ago. She started their
Radio Ndeke Luka, the radio created and supported by Fondation Hirondelle in the Central African Republic, celebrated its 19th anniversary on the 27th of March. The radio is listened to in the Central African Republic and throughout the world thanks to the diversity of its information network. Listeners in Bangui have explained the impact of the radio in their life, at the occasion of its birthday. Throughout its 19 years of existence,
A good irrigation system promotes better agricultural practice, which further adds to eliminating zero hunger. Solar power is a growing means of generating energy and power supply. Thus, in agriculture, solar power has become increasingly necessary for irrigation as a reliable, clean-energy solution for agricultural water management, especially in areas with high incident solar radiation. The core reason for using solar power/ the sun for irrigation is because, crops need
