Farm Radio Weekly is a news and information service for rural radio broadcasters in sub-Saharan Africa. It is published by Farm Radio International.
Farm Radio International Action
Date Posted: June 17th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #250, Past Issues
This week, Farm Radio International took part in a live web chat with the Gates Foundation, in the run-up to this year’s G8 (Group of Eight) Summit. The G8 is a forum for the governments of eight of the world’s wealthiest countries: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada.
Farm Radio International believes technology and new media can make the world a better place, especially for farmers. More and more people have access to mobile phone and internet technologies, and combining these with the already established and open-to-all technology of radio opens many possibilities for education, interaction and participation. But what happens when you don’t have access to some of these new technologies?
This was the topic of a discussion hosted on the UN Foundation’s Google+ page (Google+ is an online social network created by Google). Mercy Karanja of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Farm Radio International’s Executive Director, Kevin Perkins, and Farm Radio International’s ICT specialist, Bart Sullivan, sat down to talk tech, with a specific focus on how Information and Community Technologies (ICTs) are revolutionizing radio for farmers.
One of the “coolest” ways farmers can interact with broadcasters is through beep voting or flash polls. Missed calling, also called flashing or beeping, is one of the most commonly used functions of the mobile phone. Just dial a number, let it ring, then hang up. People use missed calls to get in touch with someone without spending airtime. Radio stations are capitalizing on this, integrating it into their efforts to interact with their listeners.
For a full write-up of the event, please visit the FRI website at this link: http://www.farmradio.org/ourblog/2013/06/10/farm-radio-hangs-out-with-gates-foundation/
You can watch the discussion at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEcYzPOzWW4
Date Posted: June 10th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #249, Past Issues
If you haven’t joined Barza, the online community for African radio broadcasters, you should do it today! Why? Because you will connect with your peers online, and because there is still time to join a very interesting e-discussion on “Farmers and agricultural value chains.”
To sign up, go to: www.barza.fm/welcome
The e-discussion started last week. We focused the discussion on two points: finding the simplest way to explain the concept of value chains to farmers, and brainstorming ways that farmers can be actively involved in value chains. But the discussion for week one is not over. You can add your ideas and comments if you join Barza today.
The second week of discussion focuses on the role radio can play in value chains and reflects on the following questions:
1. Do you think radio broadcasters have a good understanding of value chains and how radio can play a role? Explain.
2. Can you elaborate on what radio broadcasters are doing well and what they could improve on?
For the discussion on Farmers and agricultural value chains, we also request that you complete this survey: http://fluidsurveys.com/s/farmers-value-chains/langeng/ before June 12. By completing this survey and a second survey we will send you at the end of the e-discussion, you will be entered in a draw to receive one of four Sansa recorders!
See you on Barza!
-The Barza.fm team
Date Posted: June 3rd, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #248, Past Issues
The online community where radio broadcasters support one another to support smallholder farmers!
Over the past few months, we have been working on a new and exciting Barza platform that will allow us to expand and provide new features on the site.
If you didn’t already have an account on the old Barza, you can sign up for a new account at http://barza.fm/welcome.
(If you already had an account on Barza, you will receive an invite to the new Barza and will simply have to change your password to log in)
The new Barza will be developed in phases – an online discussion is the first phase. Starting June 3rd, we are hosting a three week group discussion about farmers and agricultural value chains. When you log in to Barza, you can get involved by clicking “Join group”.
The e-discussion will introduce the topic of agricultural value chains, demonstrate the role radio can play in supporting farmers to be more involved in agricultural value chains, and encourage participants to develop ideas for value chain programming based on the needs of their farming audiences.
If you are interested in participating in the e-discussion, please complete the following survey http://fluidsurveys.com/s/farmers-value-chains/langeng/. It will take only 10 minutes to complete. By completing the survey and a second survey we will send you at the end of the e-discussion, you will be entered in a draw to receive one of four Sansa recorders!
If you have any questions about signing-up or about the e-discussion, please email nbassily@farmradio.org
We look forward to interacting with you on the new Barza,
-The barza.fm team
Date Posted: May 27th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #247, Past Issues
Agricultural value chains are a hot topic these days. Radio broadcasters can play a vital role by helping farmers be more involved with agricultural value chains. If you’re interested in learning more, Farm Radio International, with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), is offering a three-week e-discussion on farmers and agricultural value chains, starting June 3.
The e-discussion will introduce the topic of agricultural value chains, demonstrate the role radio can play in supporting farmers to be more involved in agricultural value chains, and encourage participants to develop ideas for value chain programming based on the needs of their farming audiences.
If you are interested in participating, please go to the following link and complete a survey http://fluidsurveys.com/s/farmers-value-chains/langeng/. It will take only 10 minutes to complete. By completing the survey and a second survey we will send you at the end of the e-discussion, you will be entered in a draw to receive one of four Sansa recorders!
The e-discussion is offered in English and in French on the new and improved Barza website! Barza is a social networking site for rural radio broadcasters.
Next week, we will send instructions on how to log on to the new Barza and be part of the discussion.
Mark your calendars, save the date, and tell your friends!
Date Posted: May 13th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #246, Past Issues
Farm Radio International is one of eight international and local organizations which have teamed up in northern Tanzania. The group has established an initiative that hopes to transform the lives of 3000 small-scale farmers in four northern Tanzanian districts by turning them into exporters.
Coordinated by World Vision Tanzania, the “Sustainable Market-Led Agriculture and Resource Management” initiative, or SMART, was launched in April. The project is designed to fit in with Tanzania’s new green revolution initiative, “Kilimo Kwanza!” or “Agriculture First!
Zelote Loilang’akaki is a manager for World Vision Tanzania. He says that, in addition to securing overseas markets for Tanzanian vegetables, SMART will work to ensure that the four districts will be food secure.
Farm Radio International will be training local radio stations to produce broadcasts which are directly relevant to farmers. These programs will back up the work of extension agents and make market information directly available to listeners.
For more information, follow this link: http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/16266-eight-ngos-seek-to-boost-horticulture
Date Posted: May 6th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #245, Past Issues
Blythe McKay is Manager of the Resources for Broadcasters Program at Farm Radio International. She was recently invited to tell the story of how a major disappointment in her life turned into a dream job. She gave the talk for a TEDx audience in Hamilton, Canada. (TEDx talks are designed to give communities, organizations and individuals an opportunity to stimulate dialogue about great ideas.)
Blythe’s story goes like this: After she failed physics in her first year of university, her life-long dream of becoming a veterinarian was crushed. Initially, she was devastated. But she turned that failure into a challenge by enrolling in a new program at the University of British Columbia. The program combined agriculture with culture, and led her to Sweden for a year-long exchange program. In Sweden, she first learned about participatory development methods. She then travelled to Ghana, where she conducted field research for her master’s degree, focusing on the role that Radio Ada (a FRI broadcasting partner) played in the lives and livelihoods of a fishing village in Ghana.
This long and exciting journey led her to the “dream job” she now enjoys at Farm Radio international. Blythe says she couldn’t be happier because she’s “working with some amazing broadcasters who are committed to their communities and who are very talented.”
To hear her entire story and see her complete TEDx talk, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztJ7MmVuhFA
You can find out more about TEDx talks at http://tedxtalks.ted.com. To find out if a TEDx talk is being organized in your area, go to: http://ted.com/tedx.
Date Posted: April 29th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #244, Past Issues
Farm Radio International is piloting a new participatory information tool in Tanzania. The partner radio stations – Abood FM, Bomba FM and Baraka FM – are in the southern regions of Morogoro and Mbeya.
The new tool, called “Sound-off,” collects information on Internet-enabled mobile phones. Using the Mobenzi research application, farmers can give instant feedback after listening to agricultural radio programmes. “Sound-off” will be used in the future to monitor and adjust radio campaigns which are based on agricultural issues.
Extension officers can use “Sound-off” to collect farmers’ opinions every week. The “Sound-off” tool uses questions based on the “VOICE” standards (Value, Opportunity, Information, Convenience and Entertainment) to rate the quality, content and delivery of the weekly farmer programs broadcast by local community radio stations. Once the opinions are collected and collated via the Internet, an individual report is sent to each participating station. The stations can use these reports to modify and improve future programming.
Feedback collected in this fashion shows farmers’ overall satisfaction with agricultural programming on their local station. The information collected by “Sound-off” can also demonstrate how much knowledge farmers pick up from the programs, and whether they are putting that knowledge into practice.
Farm Radio International will be seeking to scale-up the use of “Sound-off” in radio stations across Africa. More information will be available once the pilot is completed, through Farm Radio Weekly and at FRI’s website, www.farmradio.org
Date Posted: April 22nd, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #243, Past Issues
Last week, we announced that Farm Radio International, with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is offering a three-week online discussion for African radio broadcasters on farmer value chains starting April 29th. The start date has been postponed to sometime in May.
The e-discussion will introduce farmer value chains, demonstrate the role radio can play in improving value chains that are important to small-scale farmers, and encourage participants to develop ideas for value chain radio programming based on the needs of their farming audiences.
The e-discussion will be offered in English and in French on a new and improved Barza website! Barza is a social networking site for rural radio broadcasters.
In 2014, Farm Radio International will be offering a scriptwriting competition on farmer value chains, so participating in this e-discussion will give you a head start on your entry!
Stay tuned for more details on how to log on to the new Barza and be part of the discussion.
Date Posted: April 15th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #242, Past Issues
Agricultural or farmer value chains are a hot topic these days. Radio broadcasters can play a vital role in improving farmer value chains to benefit their farming audiences. If you’re interested in learning more, Farm Radio International, with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is offering a three-week online discussion for African radio broadcasters on farmer value chains, starting on April 29.
In 2014, Farm Radio International will be offering a scriptwriting competition on farmer value chains, so participating in this e-discussion will give you a head start on your entry!
The e-discussion will introduce farmer value chains, demonstrate the role radio can play in improving value chains that are important to small-scale farmers, and encourage participants to develop ideas for value chain radio programming based on the needs of their farming audiences.
The e-discussion will be offered in English and in French on a new and improved Barza website! Barza is a social networking site for rural radio broadcasters.
Stay tuned for more details on how to log on to the new Barza and be part of the discussion.
Mark your calendars, save the date and tell your friends!
Date Posted: April 8th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #241, Past Issues
At the beginning of February this year, Karen Hampson, an FRI staff member based in Arusha, Tanzania, attended a symposium presented by a local NGO called ECHO.
After her presentation on FRI and its projects in Tanzania, several members of the audience approached Karen with questions. One of them hung back, waiting patiently for an opportunity to talk with her. When she was free, he said, “My name is Hendry Mziray, and you published my story in Farm Radio Weekly.”
Karen says, “It was a nice surprise to meet Mziray. I remember talking to him on the phone from Ottawa and developing the story.” Mziray and Karen talked for a while. Mziray said he was happy to have written the story, as it helped him get a promotion!
His bosses were so delighted with the exposure for their organization, ACT TAP, that they promoted him. He now works as Assistant National Coordinator.
You can read his story here: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2010/09/06/2-tanzania-a-renovated-warehouse-brings-new-opportunities-new-agriculturist-with-additional-information-from-hendry-mziray-in-tanzania/ . Why not contribute to Farm Radio Weekly? You never know what might happen …
Date Posted: March 24th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #240, Past Issues
Farm Radio International continues to develop new ways of communicating with farmers and measuring the impact of radio programs!
As part of the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), Farm Radio International conducted one of its first projects with Mobenzi Researcher. Mobenzi Researcher a is software that allows researchers to create a survey questionnaire on the Mobenzi website. Research assistants can then download the questionnaire to a mobile phone and, while conducting an interview, enter survey responses onto the phone. When the interview is finished, the researcher sends the survey responses to Mobenzi. This greatly simplifies and shortens the task of analyzing the survey data. Mobenzi Researcher can be operated on entry-level Nokia handsets.
In the AFRRI project, Mobenzi Researcher was used to help measure the impact of a four-month Participatory Radio Campaign, and collect data from 4,500 household surveys across Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Tanzania and Uganda in only one month.
Farm Radio International is excited to continue working with Mobenzi Researcher as a way of measuring the impact of radio campaigns in African farming communities.
To find out more about Mobenzi and its Researcher system, you can read the case study on the Mobenzi website, where you can find more information on the development and uses of the tools available. Visit: http://mobenzi.com/researcher/Case-Studies/View/FRI
Date Posted: March 14th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #239, Past Issues
Radio producers from 12 stations and organizations across sub-Saharan Africa will soon air new programs that they designed to respond to the real needs of their farming audiences.
From September to December 2012, radio producers from stations across Africa participated in an online training course offered by Farm Radio International, with financial support from the Commonwealth of Learning and the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency.
During the course, participants learned how to design a high-quality weekly radio program for farmers. Course modules focused on subjects such as: what makes good radio for farmers, finding out audience needs, information programming, using storytelling, how to make a program interesting, how to develop a program outline, how to gather audience feedback, and how to get support, either financial or in-kind, for the program. Some participants used the opportunity to improve an existing farmer program, while others designed new programs.
Participants were paired with experienced Canadian and African radio producers, who provided feedback and mentoring on course assignments. At the end of the course, participants submitted program designs for a weekly farmer-focused program. Mentors reviewed the submissions and selected the best as winners. The winners will receive seed money to help get their radio programs up and running.
“I was very impressed by the dedication participants demonstrated to their farming audiences by putting so much time into improving their programming for farmers,” says Blythe McKay, Manager of the Resources for Broadcasters Program at Farm Radio International. “Farmers are the real winners since they will be getting better radio programs.”
Congratulations to the following individuals and teams for their winning entries:
- Justin Boswell Oryema from ABS FM in Uganda
- Peter Frank Banda, Filius Jere and Martin Mwape from Breeze FM in Zambia
- Mabel Phiri and Thomas Zulu from Petauke Explorers Radio in Zambia
- Carolyne Bii from Shine FM in Kenya
- Rachel Adipo from UCRC in Kenya
- Cornelius Adumpo from Radio Builsa in Ghana
- Lydia Ajono from Radio Gurune in Ghana
- Rehema Ndagire, Sarah Mawerere and Richard Bwayo Katami from Uganda Broadcasting Corporation
- Peter Balaba and James Senabulya from Nakaseke FM in Uganda
- Mushe Muhle Masuku from Nkayi Farming Radio in Zimbabwe
- Darlington Kahilu from National Agricultural Information Services in Zambia
- Jean-Armand Bokally Dande from Radio Rurale Lolodorf in Cameroon
- Susuma Susuma, formerly with MVIWATA and now with Farm Radio International in Tanzania
Date Posted: March 11th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #238, Past Issues
Last week, we learned that Zenzele Ndebele, a Farm Radio Weekly freelance writer, was arrested on March 1, held for questioning for seven hours and subsequently released. He is accused of possessing smuggled radios and a radio receiver without a valid Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation licence.
Mr. Ndebele is the production manager at Radio Dialogue in Bulawayo. He explains: “When the police arrived at the property, they locked the gates and no one was allowed in. Those who were in were not allowed to go out.” After their search, police officers took a total of 180 radio sets. They also took Mr. Ndebele to the police station, saying they wanted him to “sign for the radios.” At the station, officers interrogated Mr. Ndebele, wanting to know the source of the radios and why they were being distributed to different communities.
According to the international NGO Committee to Protect Journalists: “Authorities in Zimbabwe have stepped up their crackdown on independent news coverage in the country by raiding the production studios [...] and confiscating radios distributed by non-governmental organizations.”
On February 19, police spokesman Charity Charamba announced a ban on “specially designed radios.” On March 5, Mr. Ndebele updated his Facebook status, saying: “I hope Charity Charamba, the police spokesperson, will learn that radios are not weapons of mass destruction but a tool for empowering communities.” Along with his message, he shared this article: http://www.chronicle.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47257%3Aradios-empower-communities-world-radio-day-is-held-every-year-on-13-february-&catid=39%3Aopinion-a-analysis&Itemid=132#.UTZOfVdWZf9
Article 19 of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement recognizes “the importance of the right to freedom of expression and the role of the media in a multi-party democracy.”
Mr. Ndebele is still awaiting a court date.
Kevin Perkins is Farm Radio International’s executive director. He commented on the situation with the following: “Media freedom, and using radio to share knowledge with a wide audience, are core values of Farm Radio International. We are concerned about any efforts to keep radios out of the hands of farmers, and offer our support to Mr. Ndebele in his continuing work to empower rural communities through radio.”
To learn more on the Radio Dialogue raid, read this article from the Committee to Protect Journalists: http://cpj.org/2013/03/zimbabwe-police-raid-station-studios-detain-journa.php
To read a compilation of tweets on “What people said about the Radio Dialogue raid,” click here: http://storify.com/zenzele/what-people-said-about-the-radio-dialogue-raid-onl?utm_medium=sfy.co-twitter&awesm=sfy.co_s2Rj&utm_campaign=&utm_content=storify-pingback&utm_source=t.co
This is a cartoon depiction of the situation which appeared in the state-owned newspaper, The Chronicle: https://twitter.com/zenzele/status/309189676437225472/photo/1
Date Posted: March 4th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #237, Past Issues
A few weeks ago, something unusual happened in the Farm Radio Malawi office. The Cable News Network (CNN) set up their big cameras and lighting equipment and proceeded to interview Rex Chapota. Mr. Chapota admits that he was nervous when the cameras started rolling. He thought to himself: “I just hope I’m saying the right things!”
Farm Radio Malawi is Farm Radio International’s partner organization on the ground in Malawi, and Mr. Chapota is Farm Radio Malawi’s executive director. He was approached by the producers of CNN’s Marketplace Africa to report on the work we do with radio and agriculture.
On February 22, the four-minute video aired on TV!
Mr. Chapota said, “That piece showed that radio is bringing in that missing link [...] Because of literacy levels of the farmers, they can’t really access other media so it was kind of a validation for me [that radio is the right medium].”
The CNN piece explains the link between radio and how farmers can get agricultural information in listening clubs. It also shows how the knowledge they get from the farm programs improves their farming and increases their income.
Congratulations to Rex Chapota and his team in Malawi for this amazing international coverage of our work! A special mention goes out to Radio Mudziwathu, a Farm Radio International partner that was featured in the CNN piece.
Click here to watch the CNN coverage: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/21/business/farm-radio-malawi/index.html
Please consider sharing this with your networks through Facebook, Twitter and email.
Date Posted: February 18th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #236, Past Issues
For small-scale farmers in developing countries, information on weather, markets and agricultural practices is essential to improving livelihoods.
Radio has been used for decades to provide agricultural extension services to small-scale farmers in Africa. Until recently, however, there was no substantial evidence of the impact of radio on improving agricultural practices, and on how to maximize this impact.
The African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFFRI) investigated the effectiveness of a new type of radio campaign developed by FRI: the Participatory Radio Campaign (PRC). In PRCs, farmers are actively involved in selecting and developing topics for broadcast on the radio.
The Guardian article quoted Kevin Perkins, executive director of FRI, as saying, “From our research, we know that the more farmer voices are featured on a given program, the more likely farmers will listen and subsequently gain knowledge.”
To read the full article online, please visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development-professionals-network/2013/feb/07/smallholder-farmers-radio-mobile-social-networking
Date Posted: February 11th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #235, Past Issues
To celebrate World Radio Day this year, Farm Radio International (FRI) collaborated with UNESCO to produce an audio piece that highlights a unique radio program created in northern Ghana. FRI worked with broadcasting partner, Rite FM, to design a radio competition. The show focused on climate change, farming and the environment. You will find an audio piece which features FRI’s African Operations Director Gizaw Shibru describing the series here: https://soundcloud.com/farmradio/farm-radio-international-world
The competition was aimed at school-aged youth. Jonie Addo-Fening is the managing director at Rite FM. He says: “A lot of the students, including my own son, were not very comfortable with [agriculture] and he takes agriculture in school. But, you know, when you ask him if he wants to take it as a career, he says ‘no, because the farmers are too poor.’ So it gave me this idea [...] to start thinking about who the future farmers of this country will be.”
The series featured a live audience, text message voting and teams of students creating segments for the broadcasts. It proved to be very popular with students. By the end of its six-week run, the radio station had received over 100,000 votes and texts about the shows.
The series was described in Farm Radio Weekly #228, in December of 2012 (“Reality radio at RITE FM, Ghana”). To find out more about the series, go to: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2012/12/10/reality-radio-at-rite-fm-ghana/
To visit Rite FM’s website and find out more about their approach to broadcasting on farming, visit: http://www.ritefmonline.org/index.php/agric-in-ghana
Date Posted: February 4th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #234, Past Issues
This week, Farm Radio Weekly is proud to publish articles in Swahili!
Following the FRW writing and editing workshop held in Arusha, Tanzania in October 2012, Farm Radio Weekly published stories written by freelance writers who work for our two African bureaus (Issue #220, October 15th, 2012, available at: http://weekly.farmradio.org/topic/issue-220/ ).
Both articles focused on the dramatic changes the Maasai are experiencing. Forced by the changing environment, the people of Longido District, northern Tanzania need to adapt their lives and culture.
Swahili translations of these stories, translated by Emanuel Saakai of Testigo Africa, are available on Barza, at the following addresses:
http://www.barzaradio.com/content/tanzania-uhaba-wa-eneo-la-kulishia-mifugo-watishia-utamaduni-wa-wamasai-na-zenzele-ndebele-0
http://www.barzaradio.com/content/tanzania-wanawake-wa-kimasai-wabadilisha-maisha-yao-kupitia-elimu-ya-watu-wazima-na-ahmed-0
Date Posted: January 28th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #233, Past Issues
This webinar will provide participants with an overview of interactive radio, which is currently being used with farmers to enhance the impact of agricultural development projects.
It will include an introduction to the recently released Interactive Radio for Agricultural Development Projects: A Toolkit for Practitioners, which was developed by FHI 360 for USAID.
It will also look into how these technologies are currently being used in the field by Farm Radio International. Through the African Farm Radio Research Initiative, they authored the study The New Age of Radio: How ICTs are changing rural radio in Africa.
Presenters will include:
David Mowbray, Training Manager at Farm Radio International .
Josh Woodard, Project Manager at FHI 360.
The webinar will be held on Tuesday, 12 February 2013, from 09:00 – 09:50 EST
Register for this webinar today at https://s.zoomerang.com/s/radiowebinar
Date Posted: January 21st, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue # 232, Past Issues
The Farm Radio International (FRI) has deployed Freedom Fone at a number of community radio stations in Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Ghana. Freedom Fone is free software that creates interactive, voice-based communication services for organisations seeking to engage with communities across mobile networks. Here’s a round-up of how these radio stations are using the technology:
Malawi
Nkhotakota Community Radio Station has been actively using Freedom Fone since Phillip Chinkhokwe returned from the Freedom Fone training workshop in Arusha in May 2012. Amongst other things, they are using Freedom Fone to receive tipoffs from the public and are sharing this information with local police as part of a crime prevention initiative.
Luciano Milala of Mudziwathu Community Radio Station attended the Freedom Fone workshop in Lilongwe in October 2012. Thanks to a little help from his friends in the Freedom Fone Malawi/Zambia user network that developed out of the training, Mudziwathu is now using Freedom Fone to interact with listeners.
Ethiopia
Thanks to Thomas Engida, a deployment at Mekele-based Dimtsi Weyane Tigray community radio station started in October 2012 and a second radio station located in Oromiya came on stream in November 2012. This is great news in a country where the government exercises considerable control over telecommunications.
Tanzania
Bomba FM and Baraka FM community radio stations in Mbeya, deployed Freedom Fone in November 2012 with assistance from FRI’s ICT Officer Seta Magabe. Bomba FM are growing the channels through which listeners can engage with the radio station, recently adding Freedom Fone and a Facebook page as options. Abood FM also began their Freedom Fone service in November 2012 in Morogoro.
Ghana
Simli Radio in Ghana began their Freedom Fone service soon after the Arusha training with the able assistance of FRI ICT Officer Yaw Nkrumah, going live in July 2012.
FRI’s work makes community radio Freedom Fone’s most prolific deployment sector – we congratulate them all on their success and thank them for their hard work and perseverance!
Date Posted: January 14th, 2013
Posted in: Farm Radio International Action, Issue #231, Past Issues
The 95th Farm Radio Resource Pack has been released! It’s been a year since we distributed our last package, but we haven’t been idle! In fact, we’ve radically reworked what we send out to our partners. We used to send out script packages. Now we distribute Farm Radio Resource Packs (FRRPs).
This Pack is entitled: Researching and producing farmer-focused programs. It provides a wealth of nuts-and-bolts guidance on how broadcasters can research and produce farmer-focused radio programs.
For the next five years, we will be publishing an average of three Farm Radio Resource Packs per year. You will notice a few changes. First of all, we are offering not only the usual Farm Radio International scripts and issue packs, but also broadcaster info docs and reports. In future Packs, you’ll see fact sheets, Farm Radio Weekly stories, and other kinds of documents. These changes are part of our continuing effort to provide broadcasters with effective resources that they can use.
As always, we hope that you use the materials in this Pack to create informative, participatory and entertaining radio programs. We’re very interested in hearing what you think about the materials in the Pack – in particular the broadcaster info docs! Are they helpful? Do you have any stories on how you’ve used them? Please share your feedback with us – don’t be shy! We love hearing from you.
Happy reading and happy producing!
