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 for many of their listeners — and are major issues for at least half the population in their region: women.
Discussing topics like women’s limited participation in agriculture, how men can support women in their farming tasks, and how both men and women can make farming a business, their goal is to provide a platform for small-scale farmers, “irrespective of their gender, to voice out their issues and get solutions.”
It’s because of that, and because of the innovative, entertaining formats they use, that we’re happy to announce that B’Omugaiga was chosen as the first winner of the Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio.
B’Omugaiga succeeds in doing this by using many different formats to incorporate women’s voices: panel discussions, field interviews, and studio interviews.
Named in memory of Farm Radio International’s former board member and journalist Liz Hughes, this new award recognizes radio programs that address issues of gender equality and create opportunities to share voices of rural women.
“As a journalist and a leader, Liz was always motivated to do the best she could possibly do,” says Liz’s husband, Doug Rushton.
“People could sense that, and she always ended up encouraging and inspiring those who worked with her to give it their all, to achieve their goals, and know it. When she joined the board of Farm Radio International, she almost immediately realized that FRI was a great home for her energy and personality. She absolutely loved being a part of FRI. Our daughter Lauren, son Sam and grandson Max miss her deeply, and always will. But we are so very happy that this award bears her name, and know that its purpose is such a perfect fit for what she, and Farm Radio International, stand for.”
B’Omugaiga succeeds in doing this by using many different formats to incorporate women’s voices: panel discussions, field interviews, and studio interviews.
Listen to an episode the B’Omugaiga on the Farm Radio blog: https://farmradio.org/2019-liz-hughes-award-for-her-farm-radio/