Issue #55

The FRW community grew again this week, with the addition of new subscribers Kolga Issaka, from the Association SOS Monde Rural, in Burkina Faso; Andrew Ogaba, from Hossana Radio, in Kenya; Baraka David Ole Maika, from the Ilaramatak Institute-IOPA, in Tanzania; and Elton Mudyazvivi, for the NGO SNV, in Zimbabwe. We welcome you and look forward to your participation in the FRW community!

We would like to remind all broadcasters within the FRW community of a special request to share your knowledge. We invite you to answer the question: What advice would you give to a radio broadcaster starting out his/her career? Please send your responses to Research and Production Officer Nelly Bassily (nbassily@farmradio.org) by February 16, 2009. Your answers will be published in a future issue of FRW!

This week’s news carries two important updates. Our first story looks at a decision by The Soil Association – an organization that certifies most of the organic produce sold in the United Kingdom – to continue certifying produce that has been air-freighted from Africa. This decision affects thousands of African farmers who make their living exporting organic fruits and vegetables to the UK.

There is also some good news from Liberia, where caterpillars invaded more than 100 villages several weeks ago. As you’ll read, entomologists have determined that the caterpillars are not armyworms, as originally feared, but another species that is easier to destroy.
In the Farm Radio Action section, you’ll find podcasts produced by Farm Radio partner Jimmy Okello, who reported from the World Social Forum, that was held in Belém, in the northern part of Brazil last January. And you can catch up with our series Steps for story-based farm radio programming in the Radio Resource section.

Happy reading!

-The Farm Radio Weekly Team

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African Farm News in Review

1. Africa: “Food miles” decision favours African farmers (Times Online, Mail Online, agrifoodstandards.net)

2. Liberia: Caterpillar infestation less serious than first believed (SciDev.Net, UN News Service)

Upcoming Events

-February 27, 2009: Deadline to apply for One World Broadcasting award

Radio Resource Bank

-Steps for story-based farm radio programming – Step 7: Adjusting the focus

Radio News Flash

-Young Ethiopians discuss HIV/AIDS on the radio

Farm Radio Action

-Farm Radio partner reports from World Social Forum

Farm Radio Script of the Week

-Sekedo, a drought resistant sorghum for Karamoja

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For almost two years, farmers like Jane Kimani have been at the centre of a hot debate over so-called “food miles.” “Food miles” refers to the distance our food travels to get from the point of production to the point of consumption, and the environmental impact of that travel.

Standing near her plantation of avocados and bananas in 2007, Ms. Kimani took questions from a British newspaper reporter. The Kenyan farmer explained that she could never afford chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Several years ago, she and her husband joined a farmers’ group that earned certified organic status.

Ms. Kimani is part of the Wangige Organic Farmers’ Group. Their products are certified by the Soil Association – an organization that certifies most of the organic produce sold in the United Kingdom. With this recognition, the farmers receive better prices for their crops, and Ms. Kimani’s family enjoys a better standard of living.

An estimated 150,000 Kenyans farmers make their living as organic farmers. A significant portion of these farmers ship their produce to the UK. In fact, UK consumers spend over a million British pounds (about 1.5 million American dollars or 1.1 million Euros) each year on organic produce from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In 2007, the growing trade in organic produce between Africa and the UK threatened to grind to a halt. At that time, the Soil Association began looking at the greenhouse gas emissions produced by transporting fruit and vegetables by air. The association considered removing its organic seal from air-freighted produce.

Airlines, supermarkets, environmentalists, and farmers’ advocates weighed in on the debate that followed.

The Soil Association recently reached a decision in favour of African farmers. Francis Blake is Technical Director of the Soil Association. He says the organization was heavily influenced by talks with African farming organizations. These consultations revealed the social benefits of organic farming.

Research from the International Institute for Environment Development was also influential. A study showed that, while air-freighting food from Africa produces greenhouse gases, the methods used by organic farmers in Africa are more environmentally sustainable than the intensive practices widely used in Europe.

The decision means that Ms. Kimani and other farmers like her will continue to enjoy premium prices for their certified organic produce.
Click here to see the notes to broadcasters on organic farming

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The caterpillars that overtook northeastern Liberia several weeks ago are more benign than originally believed.The caterpillars were described by locals as “black, creeping, and hairy” and were thought to be armyworms. More than 100 Liberian villages were infested. The pests devoured coffee, cocoa, plantain, and banana crops, and contaminated water supplies with their droppings.

But scientific efforts to precisely identify the insects brought some good news. Armyworms deposit their eggs underground – making them difficult to reach with pesticides. The caterpillars in Liberia are a different species (Achae catocaloides), and lay cocoons on the ground where they are easier to destroy.

Now that the pest has been identified, authorities are looking for a pesticide that will kill the caterpillars without affecting crops or further contaminating water supplies.

Georg Goergen is an entomologist at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture. He says that colder than average temperatures at the start of the year followed by warming could have caused the outbreak. He added that the loss of forest habitat in the area could also have encouraged the caterpillars to seek food elsewhere.

-To read FRW’s original report on the caterpillar invasion, go to: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2009/01/26/liberia-armyworms-invade-un-integrated-regional-information-networks-afrol-un-food-and-agriculture-organization/.
-For suggestions on how to report on such disasters, go to:
http://weekly.farmradio.org/2009/01/26/notes-to-broadcasters-on-invading-caterpillars/

The caterpillars have also attacked border villages in Guinea. Cocoa plantations in Côte d’Ivoire are on alert.

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The following stories from past editions of FRW also look at how organic certification can help farmers earn a premium for their crops:
- Patience for organic farming pays off (Issue#20, April 2008)

-“Cotton and shea producers satisfy Western taste for organic products” (Issue#9, February 2008)

These FRW news stories look at the revived of interest in organic fertilizer, caused by the rising cost of chemical fertilizers:

- “Farmers find manure a good substitute for expensive chemical fertilizers” (Issue#28, July 2008)

-“Rice bran can substitute for chemical fertilizer” (Issue#18, April 2008)

You may wish to research and broadcast a story about organic farming techniques practiced in your area:
-What methods of organically improving soil fertility do farmers find most effective?
-What organic methods of pest control do they find most effective?
-Have any farmers or farmers groups developed or tried a new organic farming technique? Would they recommend it to other farmers?
-Do extension officers or NGOs in the area promote organic practices? If so, what are their best tips for local farmers?
-Are there any certified organic farms in your area? What steps did the farmer or farmers take to obtain this certification? What expenses were involved? Where do they sell their produce? What impact has organic certification had on their profit margin?

You may also consider broadcasting one of the following scripts about organic farming techniques:
-“Farmers can earn income producing compost” (Package 80, Script 3, March 2007)
-“Kenyan farmer uses organic farming practices” (Package 75, Script 7, June 2005)
-“A fertility trench holds water in drylands” (Package 44, Script 1, April 1997)
-“Where to find compost materials” (Package 33, Script 9, July 1994)

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Local radio stations and other media organizations working to address social or developmental issues in the developing world are invited to apply for One World Broadcasting Trust’s Special Award for Development Media. Advocacy media initiatives working at a grassroots level and involving staff from the local area are also eligible to enter.
The Special Award is given to an outstanding media project or organization that has made a real impact on the lives of those living and working nearby. The jury will give greater consideration to projects with a wider reach and a greater impact. It is also interested in considering new and innovative ways of reaching a wider audience, while ensuring that local views and voices are incorporated.
The winner will be flown to London, England, to receive a trophy at a ceremony on June 22, 2009, with all expenses paid. For more information and details on how to enter, go to: http://www.oneworldmediaawards.org.

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Broadcasters participating in the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI) recently engaged in training to produce story-based radio programming. We’re sharing part of the training materials here in the Radio Resource Bank. Below you’ll find Step 7 of an eight-step guide to story-based farm radio programming, which looks at how to adjust the focus of your program.
To re-visit the first four steps, visit the following:
-Step 1: Topical thinking
-Step 2: Practical research
-Step 3: Focus and story idea
-Step 4: Formats and program plan
-Step 5: Interviewing and well-crafted questions
-Step 6: Getting a good recording

When you return from recording, review what you heard in the field. What did you get on tape? What did you discover? What is the story really about?

Adjust the focus of your program to ensure you give listeners a reason to stay tuned. A program focus is the goal of the show. It is what the producer wants the audience to get from it.
Remember, even when working on a program series, you need a focus – some underlying theme that keeps the audience wanting to listen. If the series is just a collection of things with no relationship to one another, then there is no reason to keep listening. When you develop your final focus, think about all possible listeners and what they would get out of the program.
Example:
In Malawi, a team of broadcasters participating in the training noticed that a theme ran through their field interviews. The theme was protection –how protection of hybrid maize is like protection of any other valuable thing. They heard a was a view that, if farmers could fully protect their maize, the people of Malawi would not be hungry. So, they focused their final program on ways to protect (in Chichewa language: “care for”) their hybrid maize as a way to prevent hunger.
With a clear focus for the program, you are ready to develop an outline, or a detailed script, of the show. Step 8 – the next and final step of our process – will help you to do that.

Questions:
What theme will hold your program together? What will keep listeners listening? What will they get from it?

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“There is nothing that won’t be talked about on Dagu Addis,” says Fasil Gebreyohannes, the producer of a “reality radio” show designed to educate Ethiopian youth and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. The program is broadcast on Sheger FM, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and surrounding areas. The UN’s Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reports that Dagu Addis holds its audience’s attention with a mixture of reality radio, listener group discussions, personal narratives, and games. The program encourages young people to discuss issues related to sexuality, reproductive health, peer pressure, and HIV/AIDS, in a culture where talking about such matters is usually taboo. To read the complete IRIN report, go to: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=82734.

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From January 27 to February 1, 2009, 100,000 members of social movements, networks, NGOs, and other civil society organizations gathered under the banner “Another World is Possible.” The activists were participating in the World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil, with the shared goals of opposing neo-liberal economic principles and proposing alternatives.

Farm Radio partner Jimmy Okello, from Radio Apac in Uganda, attended the World Social Forum. Along with broadcasters from Australia and the United States, he reported on the event for the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC). AMARC has made these reports available online, for listening or re-broadcasting on community radio stations. To access the reports, go to: http://podcast.amarc.org/Social_Forums/WSF/2009/Audios/AudioFiles/.

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Our news story about “food miles” illustrates one of the indirect ways in which African farmers are affected by climate change. More obvious challenges are faced every day by farmers who find weather patterns more erratic and rainfall patterns more difficult to predict. One strategy for coping with climate change is to use drought-resistant, fast-maturing crop varieties. In this script, we hear from a farmer in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, who explains that “lack of rain and too much sunshine” made it difficult for him to grow traditional sorghum. He describes his experience with drought-resistant seeds. To view this script online, go to: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/84-1script_en.asp.

Notes to Broadcaster

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