Issue #202

This week’s first story from Kenya celebrates World Environment Day, to be marked on June 5. It focuses on Kwela Kwela Cultural Inn, a restaurant-hotel-cultural venue which is operated entirely with harvested rainwater. The owner found that he could save a great deal of money by harvesting rainwater, rather than paying women to collect and carry water from a distant river. It conserves and protects the environment at the same time as saving him money.

Our second story talks about a relatively common occurrence: a market glut. Spurred by the success of recent onion crops, an increasing number of Nigerien farmers are growing the vegetable. In combination with improved yields and unsold stock from last season’s crop, the market is now flooded with onions. As a result, farmers are forced to accept very low onion prices.

Our last story tells of the destruction that a recent storm brought to villages in the Comoros Islands. Government officials estimate that 46,000 people were affected by the storm, and that 90% of crop production has been lost.

In this week’s Action section, we announce a free 11-week online course offered by Farm Radio International, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning. The course is offered to radio broadcasters in sub-Saharan Africa, and focuses on designing a regular (daily or weekly) farmer program to serve small-scale farmers. It will be offered in English and begin in September 2012. See below for more details.

Happy reading!

-The Farm Radio Weekly team

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Kwela Kwela Cultural Inn is a popular spot for traditional African food, cultural performances and accommodation. The western Kenya centre operates all year long on rainwater harvested from its rooftops.

When Gaitano Likhavila retired as a civil servant in 2007, he started a small shop. Over time, he added another room and turned the shop into a drinking establishment. Next, he opened a successful restaurant, and later added rooms for accommodation. Mr. Gaitano’s business is now known as the Kwela Kwela Cultural Inn. He supplies his restaurant with a poultry farm and vegetable garden. There is also a big area for live performances.

But Mr. Gaitano had a serious problem. He needed a steady water supply for his growing business. At one time, he hired women to carry water on their heads from a faraway river. He remembers, “I saw that I was spending a lot of money on water to run the kitchen, the guest rooms, drinking and other domestic use.”

So he decided to harvest his own water. He dug a hole ten feet deep by ten feet wide and built a water tank which holds more than 3000 litres of water. The tank cost 60,000 Kenya shillings, or around $700 US. He explains, “I used the soil dug out of the hole to bake bricks [from] which [I] later constructed the tank. I only spent money on buying steel bars, wire mesh, cement and labour to construct the tank.”

Mr. Gaitano designed the compound so that its rooftops direct water into the tank. A dining hall sits on top of the tank. People in the dining area have no idea that they are sitting on top of an underground water tank.

During the rainy season, the tank fills. An outlet leads to the vegetable garden. Another connection feeds into Mr. Gaitano’s car washing bay.

As well as the underground tank, there are eight overhead tanks on the rooftops. Water is pumped into these tanks from the underground tank. When the rains stop, the overhead water is used to run the centre. Mr. Gaitano says, “During serious droughts, I only lack water for one or two weeks before the rains come back. So I am able to store water that serves the whole year.”

Harvesting his own water is much cheaper than buying piped water from the public supply. Mr. Gaitano explains, “The cost of piped water is expensive, yet the supply is on and off. I am saving more than 8000 Kenya shillings every month … I need a lot of water for daily use in the kitchen, in the guest rooms, for the toilets, for the garden and animals.”

Officials from the town council tested the safety of the water for drinking. Mr. Gaitano explains, “They did the tests and actually confirmed that the water was safe and even tested better than piped water.”

Mr. Gaitano believes that, though farmers suffer during prolonged droughts, a lot of the water that falls during heavy rains is wasted. With the benefit of his experience, he advises farmers to adopt water harvesting to fight food insecurity. He also advises hospitals and health centres to get on board and begin affordable rainwater harvesting projects.

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Bitterness is written all over Boureïma Hamado’s face as he prepares to return home after selling his onion crop at the Katako market in Niger’s capital, Niamey. He’s taken a big loss on his harvest.

Mr. Hamado brought 20 sacks of onions – 140 kilos in total – to Niamey, hoping to sell them for a good price.  He needed 4,500 francs CFA per sack (around nine US dollars), though he was hoping for up to 6,500 CFA. But, as he explains, “This venture has cost me more than 100,000 CFA ($200 US) and I lost out at every point, because just to bring the onions here, I borrowed 15,000 CFA.”

About 300,000 Nigerien farmers grow onions, generating around 100 million dollars in revenue a year, according to the Federation of Market Garden Co-operatives of Niger, a Niamey-based smallholders’ organization.

But this year, onion producers faced huge problems because the market is saturated. Mr. Hamado says, “I bet on high profits from onions – which were selling for more than 25,000 CFA ($50 US) a bag last year – and increased my production, but I didn’t account for a glut on the market.”

Idrissa Bagnou is president of the Federation of Market Garden Co-operatives.  He says, “There was a bumper harvest because farmers have become more professional, have had better access to seeds, and the total number of [onion] farmers has gone up.” Consumption, however, has not increased, either locally or in importing countries.

Mr. Bagnou adds, “Foreign traders, who usually buy onions throughout the year, hadn’t finished selling off stock harvested in September 2011 from Agadez (in northern Niger) when the December-February crop from other parts of the country came onto the market.” This explains the steep fall in price.

While onion producers are in turmoil, consumers are delighted. Fatouma Harouna owns a restaurant in Niamey. She says, “In 15 years, I have never seen the price fall so low. A bag of onions which last year cost as much as 40,000 CFA ($80 US) is now selling for 5,000 CFA. It’s truly a bargain for us.”

High prices last year were due to a temporary shortage. Responding to the problem, the government met with stakeholders in the onion sector in early March to help distressed producers and better organize how and where to sell the crop.

Abdoulsalam Douma is an expert at the Federation of Market Garden Co-operatives. He says one short-term solution would be for the government to buy part of this year’s harvest directly, paying producers at least $40 US a bag, an average year’s price.

Mr. Douma believes that farmers need loans to build storage facilities. He says, “What’s needed are … the establishment of offices to coordinate buying and selling in all the onion-producing areas and allow farmer associations to better organize their sales over time.”

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On April 20 this year, heavy rain pounded Fatima Hassane’s village of Vouvouni, three kilometres south of the capital Moroni. Each of the Comoros Islands, off the coast of Mozambique, was badly affected. In Vouvouni, dozens of fields were flooded. Farmers like Mrs. Hassane lost crops and livestock. She says, “Most of my farm was flooded; my fruit trees were badly damaged.” Mrs. Hassane also lost her three goats and cow.

Vouvouni was not the only village affected. Vouni Bambao, located five kilometres northeast of the capital, also suffered.  Farmer Mohamed Bahaoudine describes a similar scene of destruction. He says, “I had two fields. Both were devastated by flooding. I have nothing now.”

About 80% of the population of the Comoros Islands is involved in agriculture. Staple crops include cassava, bananas and coconut. With four main islands and a population of less than one million, the Comoros Islands is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Many houses were destroyed by the storm and several roads blocked.  A statement from the Ministry of Agriculture reported that over 46,000 people were affected.

While the Ministry could give no official estimate of damage, the rains caused widespread destruction of food crops such as bananas, cassava, maize and tarot. Some coconut and pine trees were damaged, as well as vanilla.  An official from the Ministry noted, “The projected losses in agricultural production are estimated at about 90%.” A great deal of farmland was damaged by landslides and mudslides.

Farm incomes will certainly drop, and result in food insecurity and increased poverty. In response, the government is appealing for help. International organizations and countries supportive of the Comoros Islands have responded positively. Essential goods such as food and medicines have been sent to aid disaster victims. The agricultural sector needs an estimated one billion Comorian francs (US $2.6 million) for rehabilitation.

For now, farmers accuse the authorities of not being interested in their fate. Ali Said is a farmer in Mitsoudjé, south of the capital and one of the villages worst affected by the storm. He says, “Until now, we have not received any help regarding agriculture and livestock.” Mohamed Bahaoudine concludes, “We feel abandoned by the authorities.”

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Our story from Kenya is about harvesting rainwater, and is published to mark World Environment Day on June 5.

Harvesting rainwater not only saves money for the Kenyan business owner, it also protects the environment. It makes best use of rainwater that might otherwise be wasted or contribute to soil erosion, and by not removing scarce water from other sources, it conserves water and makes it available for other human and/or ecological uses.

World Environment Day is an annual event which was first celebrated in 1972. Through this special day, the United Nations draws worldwide attention towards the environment and encourages political awareness and action. The overall aim of World Environment Day is for everyone not only to realize their responsibility, but also their power to become agents for change in support of sustainable and equitable development.

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day is “Green Economy: Does it include you?”

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) defines a Green Economy as one “that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.” UNEP says that a green economy “can be considered as an economy which is low carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive.”

You can find more resources on the Green Economy on the UNEP website at: http://www.unep.org/wed/greeneconomy/

From the UNEP, here are some Green Economy success stories from around the world, including several from Africa: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/SuccessStories/tabid/29863/Default.aspx

Also from UNEP, here are some Frequently Asked Questions about the Green Economy: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/AboutGEI/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/tabid/29786/Default.aspx

This website has a searchable (on a global map!) list of events and celebrations planned for World Environment Day on Wednesday, June 5: http://www.unep.org/wed/aroundtheworld/activitymap/

For Twitter users, use or search the hashtag: #wed2012 to follow or post events and updates.

If you want to do programming on environmental issues, you might first want to talk to farmers about their environment. Have they seen changes in their environment over time? What changes have they seen – in the weather, the soil, in the vegetation around the farm, the growing season, in livestock, or in animal and insect pests? What environmental changes have made farming more difficult? Which changes have been beneficial to the farmer?

You could also ask farmers who or where they turn if they have questions about the environment. Where do they get the information they need? From extension workers? From other farmers? From other government workers? From NGOs? From radio stations? Or perhaps they have nowhere and no-one to turn to. Ask them what kind of environmental themes they would like to hear about on the radio.

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This story shows what can happen when yields increase but the market is already saturated. Noticing a good price for onions one season, many farmers in Niger decided to grow onions in the next season. But this resulted in a flooded market. This can easily happen when farmers do not have full information about markets. Onion farmers lost money when prices dropped.

Accessing relevant and timely market information can be a challenge for small-scale farmers in rural areas. Various systems have been developed to improve this situation – in some countries, farmers can access market information by mobile phone or rural business centres with Internet connections. Radio stations can also play their part by including whole programs or program segments on market information services for farmers.

For more information about one mobile-based market information service, visit: http://www.esoko.com/about/index.htm

Here are two Farm Radio International Scripts on market information:

-Seeing The Difference: Project Makes Farming More Attractive By Improving Farming Methods And Income (Package 83, March 2008) http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/83-5script_en.asp

-Market News from MEGA FM (Package 83, March 2008) http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/83-3script_en.asp

Refer to this week’s script section for more scripts on marketing information services on radio.

How do farmers in your broadcast area access information about prices and markets? Do they rely on word of mouth or are there local information services they can use? You could visit a market and try to find out what mechanisms farmers use to sell their products – do they sell to wholesalers or small traders? How do they find out what their selling options are? How do they decide where to sell? How do they ensure a good price? Does this system work or do farmers often lose out? If you can find farmers who use market services on their mobiles, ask how effective and useful they find it.

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This news story from the Comoros Islands shows that there are some events which cannot be planned for, and to which farmers remain particularly vulnerable. In this extreme case, farmers feel they can do little but appeal to authorities to help them get back on their feet.

But natural disasters are not always unexpected. Often, extreme weather events can be predicted by meteorologists. Farmers in regions known to be prone to flooding, or natural events such as high winds, can include coping mechanisms in their farm. Planting a variety of crops, saving seed or keeping livestock as an investment are examples. Here are some recent reports and updates on this story:

-“Comoros: Aid workers arrive as emergency declared” http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/comoros-aid-workers-arrive-emergency-declared

-“Comoros floods April 2012” http://reliefweb.int/disaster/fl-2012-000066-com?sl=environment-term_listing%252Ctaxonomy_index_tid_source-3344

You may also wish to review scripts on disaster preparation, mitigation and management from Farm Radio International Package 64. These scripts can be found online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/numerical.asp (scroll down to scripts from Package 64).

Here is a Farm Radio Weekly story on flooding from the same region:

-Mozambique: Farmers and fishers can stay safe during floods (FRW 109, May 2010)

http://weekly.farmradio.org/2010/05/03/2-mozambique-farmers-and-fishers-can-stay-safe-during-floods-ips/

If you broadcast to a region which is prone to natural disasters, you may want to consider what role your station can play. When local people are informed that a natural disaster is coming, they can take action to protect their families. Radio can be an invaluable tool, sharing information that helps people prepare for a disaster and notifying people if a disaster is imminent. Here are some ideas to increase your effectiveness in broadcasting information on disaster preparedness:

-Tell your audience about the importance of food security and farmers, especially in times of natural disaster. Promote the crucial role of farmers in coping with disaster, and give them the respect they deserve.
-Develop programs that shift people’s preferences away from imported food, especially during times of disaster, or during seasons when disasters often strike. Use programs to promote and stimulate demand for locally-grown food.
-Establish rural phone “hot lines” before and during disasters. Use the hot lines as part of live call-in/text-in programs.
-Ask popular artists and singers to lend their names to radio campaigns about disaster preparedness and mitigation. Invite the artists to appear and be interviewed on your programs.
-Highlight the cost of disasters to farmers and agricultural production as well as to the country as a whole. Invite representatives from government (for example, the Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) and from NGOs to participate in informing the public.

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The Above the Fray fellowship gives a promising journalist the opportunity to cover important but under-reported stories. One fellow will be selected to report from a region lacking significant mainstream media attention. The selected individual will spend three months filing on-air and online stories for National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States.

Above the Fray fellowship is not about finding the most experienced candidate; it is about discovering the next generation of international journalists. The fellowship will support energetic, truth-seeking individuals who wish to cover under-reported regions, but who lack the means to do so.

Applicants should have at least three but no more than five years’ professional experience. Candidates must submit a bio, two recommendations, two audio or video clips, three essays and a pitch to report from an otherwise under-reported region.

Deadline for applications: July 1, 2012.

For more information and to apply, visit http://www.thejohnalexanderproject.org/apply.html

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The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (commonly called Rio+20 or Earth Summit) will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from June 20-22, 2012. The Conference provides an opportunity to reflect on science’s contribution to sustainable development since the first Earth Summit 20 years ago, and on how it can contribute most effectively in the future.

Scidev.net has created a web page that gathers the latest news and features, opinion and analysis, as well as policy briefs and key documents. These articles can be a good starting point for research if you are planning on reporting on science and sustainable development as it relates to Rio+20.

You can visit the site here: http://www.scidev.net/en/science-and-innovation-policy/science-at-rio-20/

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Have you wanted to improve your station’s regular farmer program, but just can’t get started? Have you been contacted by farmers in your listening area who think your station should have a farmer program? Are you interested in starting a farmer program, but don’t know where to begin? Are you keen to join peers from across Africa to learn how to design a high quality radio program for farmers and share your ideas? If you said yes to any of these questions, then we have an exciting opportunity for you!

Farm Radio International, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning, is launching a free 11-week online course for radio broadcasters in sub-Saharan Africa. The course focuses on designing a regular (daily or weekly) farmer program to serve small-scale farmers in a station’s listening area. It will be offered in English and begin in September 2012. Stay tuned for information on the exact starting date.

Through the course, participants will learn:

• What makes a farmer program effective
• How to create a purpose statement for your farmer program
• How to identify the audience for your program
• How to identify farmer needs that radio can serve
• How to present various kinds of information
• How to develop programming on issues of importance to farmers
• How to tell stories
• How to choose and use appropriate radio formats
• How best to serve both women and men farmers
• How to design a structure for your program
• How to keep the program interesting
• How to determine what resources your farmer program needs and where to find them
• How to gather audience feedback for ongoing program evaluation and improvement

If you are an African broadcaster and want to improve your existing farmer program, or create a new farmer program for your radio station, we invite you to apply.

There will be two categories of participants for the e-course.

1. People working at radio stations in sub-Saharan Africa who are interested in improving an existing farmer program OR creating a new radio program for farmers. Participants in this category must have the support of their station manager to apply what they learn during the course to their farmer programs. Each station is permitted only one participant or group of participants. If more than one person per station is interested in participating, participants will work in teams with their station colleagues. Participants will submit a complete program design and other program information at the end of the course. The best entries may receive one-time seed funding (max. $1000 CAD) to help them produce the program designed during the e-course.

1. Individuals working in radio stations in sub-Saharan Africa who will not have the opportunity to either improve an existing farmer program or create a new program for broadcast in the months following the course. These individuals will participate in the course’s learning modules and submit course assignments as a learning exercise. Participants in this category will not participate in the award competition.

Participants in both categories will take part in individual and group activities designed to provide feedback on knowledge levels at various stages of the course. Participants in both categories who complete all course activities will receive a certificate of course completion.

Participants with limited internet access can request a CD-ROM version of the course.

If you are interested in this opportunity, go to ecourse.farmradio.org to register. If you have any questions, please send an email to ecourse@farmradio.org.

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This week’s story about a market glut in Niger shows what can happen when farmers do not have full information about markets. In the Nigerien situation, the number of farmers producing onions had grown, and onion yields had increased. On top of that, the foreign traders who had purchased the previous season’s crop hadn’t sold it all. Thus, the market was flooded with onions. Naturally, the price dropped and the onion farmers lost money.

The farmers wouldn’t have grown onions if they had known the situation beforehand. Information about produce markets and prices is available on Market Information Service (MIS) programs on many local radio stations. But few MIS programs do the kind of research required to give growers and buyers a full picture of the market.

Our most recent script package contains a two-part script which talks about improvements that can be made to traditional MIS programs, which simply announce prices at local markets. Improved MIS programs go far beyond broadcasting lists of buying and selling prices for local staples. They connect buyers and sellers; they help growers choose which crops to grow next season; they educate growers on local, regional and international markets; they help growers understand markets in general (!); they help growers grasp the benefits of storing their produce and selling when prices are higher – and many, many other things.

This two-part script can be accessed at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/94-7script_en.asp and http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/94-8script_en.asp

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