Issue #82

Since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, women have taken a lead role in the country’s recovery. In their roles as farmers, fishers, or Members of Parliament, women are central to the country’s healing and future development. Here are some recent news items on this topic:

‘Women Key to Country’s Development – First Lady’: http://allafrica.com/stories/201106300160.html

CNN segment on Rwandan women: http://www.one.org/blog/2010/07/26/cnn-airs-segment-on-rwandan-women/

You may find the website of the Rwanda Women’s Network useful: http://www.rwandawomennetwork.org/

For tools and guidelines on gender reporting from Inter Press Service: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2010/07/26/ips-gender-reporting-toolkits-published-online/

Farm Radio International has produced many scripts over the years on gender. Browse our archive here: http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/gender.asp

Last week we ran an article from Rwanda, telling the story of Bernadette Mukamazimpaka, a genocide survivor, and how she is rebuilding her life in a tea-growing co-operative: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2011/06/27/rwanda-tea-co-operatives-promote-unity-ifad/

Other stories from Rwanda published by Farm Radio Weekly include:

Rwanda: Women seek shared control of family assets (FRW 51, January 2009).http://weekly.farmradio.org/2009/01/12/rwanda-women-seek-shared-control-of-family-assets-syfia-grands-lacs/

Rwanda: Land registry aims to reduce conflict (FRW 101, March 2010). http://weekly.farmradio.org/2010/03/01/2-rwanda-land-registry-aims-to-reduce-conflict-syfia-grands-lacs-new-times/

This story may encourage you to produce a program about the changing roles of women in agriculture and economic life.  Look for women or women’s groups in your region who are challenging gender stereotypes, or doing something innovative, alongside their traditional roles in the fields and in the home. Examples might include: women who are taking on roles that men usually perform (such as fishing, or repairing motor vehicles); and women who have learned new skills, or taken loans to start a business. You could ask the women involved, and their families, some of these questions:

-What made you decide to take up this new initiative (role, skill, etc.)?

-How has this affected your family?

-What reactions have you (or your family) seen from others concerning your activities?

-How did the male members of the family react? Did they react in a different way than the females?

-How do these reactions make you feel?

-What are your plans for the future?

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We welcome all our readers to another edition of FRW. A special greeting goes to our latest subscriber, Armel Kouame, from the NGO, Green Cast Africa in Côte d’Ivoire. If you are reading this week’s FRW online, you may wish to take a moment to subscribe. Subscribing is as easy as following this link: http://farmradio.org/english/partners/fr_weekly_subscribe.asp, and providing us with your contact information. You will then start receiving FRW in your e-mail inbox every week.

This week’s news stories are all about fertilizer. First, we look at some examples of national fertilizer subsidies – and how a program that fell out of favour for many years is being revived in several African countries, with some promising results for food security. Our second story reveals how a certain variety of acacia tree can act as a “fertilizer factory in the field,” helping farmers to double or triple their maize yields.

In the Radio Resource section, you’ll learn about a recent declaration, made at a UNESCO conference. The declaration recognizes the importance of broadcast media in communicating relevant information about climate change. And for an update on the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), please see the Farm Radio International Action section.

Happy reading!

-The Farm Radio Weekly Team

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African Farm News in Review

1. Africa: Fertilizer subsidies can improve food security (Various Sources)

2. Southern Africa: Tree is a ‘fertilizer factory in the field’ (Mongabay, UNEP)

Upcoming Events

-October 31, 2009: New deadline for Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Awards

Radio Resource Bank

-Paris Declaration on Broadcast Media and Climate Change

Farm Radio Action

-Farm Radio President reflects on first two years of AFRRI initiative

Farm Radio Script of the Week

-Legumes make their own fertilizer – With help from their friends

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Farmers in many parts of Africa are suffering today. Whether from flooding or drought, crops have been devastated. But in some areas, there is reason to celebrate.

Abdu Mohammed is a farmer in Kano State, northern Nigeria. He says the quantities of millet they are harvesting are “wonderful.” All of his community’s crops – maize, guineacorn, groundnuts, and beans – are maturing well. Mr. Mohammed says yields are expected to surpass those of last year. Farmers in Kano say there are two reasons for good crops this year: good rains and fertilizer provided by the government.

Nigeria is one of many African nations that now subsidizes its farmers with free or low-cost fertilizer. This practice was rare for some time, but is now more common. Governments increasingly see fertilizer subsidies as a way to promote food security. The effectiveness of Malawi’s fertilizer program has served as inspiration.

A few years ago, the average Malawian farmer had difficulty producing enough food for her family. Small-scale farmers did not have access to the tools they needed. Inputs such as fertilizer and seeds were unaffordable. The situation came to a head in 2005. After a devastating maize harvest, almost half of Malawians needed food aid.
Just two years later, the situation was dramatically different. Malawi was much more food secure. UNICEF shipped three tons of powdered milk to Malawi. Juan Ortiz-Iruri, UNICEF’s deputy representative in Malawi exclaimed: “We will not be able to use it!” The powdered milk was re-routed to Uganda.

During the 2008 food crisis, Malawi remained self-sufficient in food. The country that once relied on regular shipments of food aid enjoyed a surplus of maize.

Malawi is now considered a success story because of a fertilizer subsidy that had not been used since the 1970s and ’80s. In the Malawian subsidy system, farmers are given coupons to buy fertilizer and seeds from agro dealers at below market value. The program has proven that even disadvantaged farmers can achieve good yields. Maize production almost tripled between 2005 and 2007.

Other African nations are following suit, with promising results.

In Ghana, research conducted by the Peasant Farmers Association showed that more than half of farmers who participated in the subsidy system were able to increase production. For example, rice farmers increased yields by almost 60 per cent between 2004 and 2007.

Kenya is a good example of fertilizer coupons reaching their intended beneficiaries. Fertilizer subsidy programs are often criticized for not reaching smallholder farmers. In Kenya, however, the subsidy system is allowing average farmers to access fertilizer. The proportion of smallholder farmers using fertilizer has increased significantly since 1995.

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Many years ago, scientists noticed something interesting happening in Malawian fields. Tall, thorny trees grew in the middle of sorghum and millet plots. The scientists wanted to know why farmers kept these trees. What was their secret? What the scientists would discover could help farmers in other parts of Africa double or triple their yields.

The tree is called Faidherbia albida. In Swahili, it is called Mgunga. In Bambara, it is Balanzan. Faidherbia is a type of acacia tree with special properties. It fixes nitrogen in the soil – an important nutrient for many crops.
Dennis Garrity is director general of the World Agroforestry Centre, or ICRAF. He notes that farmers have driven the knowledge of this special tree. Now, ICRAF is combining farmer knowledge with scientific research to better understand and promote Faidherbia.

The benefits of Faidherbia have been studied in Malawi and Zambia. In each country, scientists measured maize yields in plots where Faidherbia was planted. They compared this to maize yields in plots without Faidherbia. In both countries, yields of maize planted near Faidherbia were double or triple the yields of maize without the tree.
It’s no wonder that Malawian farmers call Faidherbia a “fertilizer factory in the field.”

Mr. Garrity explains how the tree adds nitrogen to the soil. Early in the rainy season, Faidherbia becomes dormant. Its nitrogen-rich leaves fall to the ground. This happens at the same time that farmers plant their seeds. The seedlings soak up nutrients from the fallen leaves.

Another advantage is that, since the tree is dormant during the rainy season, it does not compete with crops for sunlight or nutrients.

The Departments of Agriculture in Malawi and Zambia have taken note of this research. They are recommending that farmers plant one hundred Faidherbia trees on every hectare of maize.

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As we saw in this week’s news story, Malawi’s dramatically improved food security situation has inspired several other African nations to consider fertilizer subsidy programs. Individual subsidy programs have been criticized on many fronts. There have been charges that corruption and political favoritism have prevented all farmers from benefiting. (We will look at some of the failings of fertilizer subsidy systems in a follow-up article in next week’s FRW.) However, these subsidy programs are also gaining much attention for the positive results they produce. And, in most cases, small-scale farmers welcome them with open arms.

If your government operates a fertilizer subsidy program, you may wish to research a news story on the impact (if any) it has had on local farmers. Here are some questions to consider:

-How does the subsidy program work? (For example, what is the mechanism used to allow farmers to purchase fertilizer at a subsidized rate?)
-Who is eligible to receive the fertilizer subsidy? Are any farmers excluded from the program, either intentionally, for political reasons, or because some other problem impedes their access? Do men and women have equal access? Is subsidized fertilizer available to farmers without secure land tenure?
-Was enough subsidized fertilizer available to meet the needs of local farmers?
-Did access to subsidized fertilizer result in better yields for local farmers? What other factors affected yields this year?

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With its special ability to naturally fertilize soil and potential to double or triple yields of nearby maize, Faidherbia can be an important asset to farmers. In fact, other plants have similar properties. Leguminous plants (such as beans and peas) also fix nitrogen in the soil. For this reason, they are often intercropped with cereals or vegetables. The practice of improved fallowing or planting “green manure” is another method of naturally incorporating nutrients into the soil.

These Farm Radio International scripts look at various plants that can be used to naturally improve soil fertility:

-.Legumes make their own fertilizer – with help from their friends (Package 80, Script 8, March 2007)
-Improve rice yields without buying fertilizer (Package 58, Script 2, January 2001)
-Grow your own fertilizer – Plant cover crops with maize (Package 58, Script 5, January 2001)
-Improved fallows for African farmers (Package 76, Script 3, October 2005)
-Improved fallows provide benefits for farmers (Package 76, Script 4, October 2005)
-Farmers who use improved fallows must replace phosphorous in soils (Package 74, Script 8, March 2005)
-Alternatives to slash and burn agriculture: Improve fallows with Tithonia, the wild sunflower (Package 71, Script 5, June 2004)

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The deadline has been extended for submitting entries to the Radio for Peacebuilding Africa (RFPA) Awards 2009. These awards recognize the best radio programs that contribute to peace in Africa. According to the RFPA website, the awards celebrate programs which reduce tensions in groups and communities, enhance and give value to shared interests, break down listener stereotypes, and/or provide positive role models.

There are five award categories:
-Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Community Radio Award
-Radio for Peacebuilding Gender Award
-Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Children’s Award
-Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Youth Award
-Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Special Award

For a full description of each category, click here: http://radiopeaceawards.org/en/categories.htm.

Entries must be received by October 31, 2009. Three prizes will be awarded in each category, as follows: first prize 250 Euros (approximately 355 American dollars), second prize 100 Euros (approximately 140 American dollars), and third prize 50 Euros (approximately 70 American dollars).

-For more information on the Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Awards 2009, click here: http://www.radiopeaceafrica.org/index.cfm?lang=en.
-To listen to the winning programs from 2006, visit: http://www.radiopeaceafrica.org/index.cfm?lang=en&context_id=4&context=audio&cont_menu_id=41&page=main&theme=41.

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From September 4-5, 2009, broadcasters, scientific organizations, and climate-related agencies came together to examine the role and potential of broadcast media to raise public awareness on climate change, and the importance of strategic partnerships to achieve this goal. The conference produced the following declaration. It calls on the international community to support broadcasters to improve their capacity to produce relevant programs on climate change. It also calls upon broadcasting unions to encourage members to increase their commitments to climate change content.

We, the participants of the UNESCO International Conference on Broadcast Media & Climate Change (Paris, 4th & 5th September 2009),

Emphasizing that an increased public understanding of the urgency of climate change is essential to mitigate its negative impacts and to avert human suffering,

Underlining that access to relevant information on climate change is vital to sustain a living planet and for the survival of human beings,

Acknowledging that there are significant social, economic and environmental benefits in taking action to combat the effects of climate change,

Recognizing that the information provided by broadcast media plays a critical role in stimulating policy debate and in mobilizing knowledge to empower societies to make informed decisions on options for mitigation and adaptation,

Agreeing that dedicated collaboration among broadcast media to share and disseminate climate change information that incorporates both global and local perspectives would encourage individuals and policy-makers to undertake timely action,

Welcoming UNESCO’s initiative to organize the first International Conference on Broadcast Media and Climate change,

Invite the international community and relevant agencies and programmes of the United Nations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to support all broadcasters, regional broadcasting unions and international broadcasting organizations in meeting the following objectives:

- To strengthen regional and international collaboration of all broadcasting organizations and concerned professional organizations to optimize the quality and relevance of programming and reporting on climate change;
- To encourage the production and dissemination of relevant audiovisual content at a local level to give voice to marginalized populations affected by climate change;
- To collaborate in raising the skills of broadcast media professionals through training, the exchange of knowledge and best practices, and by facilitating access to relevant scientific information;
- To promote opportunities for media professionals to build information-sharing networks;

And invite the broadcasting unions and other international associations of broadcasters:
- To encourage their members to make quantifiable commitments to increase the availability of content on climate change through the exchange of audiovisual material and the broadcast of programme items at local, national and international levels,
- To request their members to dedicate the resources and broadcasting space needed to comprehensively report on the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December 2009 and on follow-up actions,
- To develop and promote broadcasting industry standards in environmental management and to urge their members to set quantifiable targets for a reduction in their own carbon footprint.

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From September 22-24,2009, members of the International Advisory Committee for the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI) met in Ottawa, Canada. Following is an excerpt from Farm Radio International President Doug Ward’s opening remarks. These remarks will give you a taste of what the AFRRI project has accomplished to date, as well as the work that lies ahead. To learn more about the initiative, visit: http://farmradio.org/english/partners/afrri/.

We have completed one whole round of participatory radio campaigns (PRCs) and are gearing up both for a second round this fall and we will also be implementing the market information system (MIS) soon. [Editor’s note: MIS radio programs will provide local market prices for crops.]

And after that, of course, will be the final research activity, including the most important step of all – going back to 4,000 farmers to see if our radio work has contributed at all to changes in the food and nutrition security.
While we don’t yet have research results to show that we have made a difference, we certainly have anecdotal evidence. Much of that evidence shows us that the PRCs actually spur farmers on a wide scale to take up improvements, and that is very encouraging.

And there has been another level of anecdotal evidence that we did not particularly expect. We have found that the AFRRI project in each country has brought together the voices of people who should be speaking with each other – farmers, extensionists, academics, government officials, NGOs – and they have created dialogues and activities that they want to continue, in one way or another, in the service of smallholder farmers, through radio.
Well, we are still a year away from having the impact research in our hands. Who knows what it will tell us?
It might say that the PRCs have touched hundreds of thousands of lives and given those farmers the boost they needed to improve their farming practice by adopting a farmer-chosen improvement.

It might show that thousands of farmers are getting better prices for their cash crops because of improved market information services.

Those, of course, are the impacts we all hope for. But the impact results will probably not be that clear. They rarely are. And for good reason. We are not the only player, the only influence of the farmer.

And let’s face it, change is a hard sell. Farmers are essentially conservative. They have to be! The lives of their families depend on their efforts. And even if they could do better, they don’t want to try something that could put their harvest at risk. Many will want to watch for improvements in a neighbour’s field before they try it in theirs.
But all of that aside, I am confident that we will have learned a lot about involving farmers in activities beyond just whacking hoes into the earth.

We have got them talking and collaborating and acting together and using radio for their own development.
And we have got broadcasters out of their ivory towers and into the ruts of a corn field capturing the stories of these farmers, listening to them, valuing them, helping them to use radio to spur local development with local goals and local actors.

And I don’t think it will ever be the same again. Especially if we get out the story of this work to all who can benefit from it, to all who can help improve their development practice through learning from our stumbles and our successes.

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In this week’s news story from Southern Africa, we learned about the Faidherbia tree (also known as Mgunga or Balanzan) and how it provides nitrogen to the soil, fertilizing nearby crops. Other plants can serve the same function in a farmer’s field.

In our featured script, “Ms. Bean” describes her “special talent” for providing nitrogen to the soil. In fact, as this script explains, all leguminous plants have the ability to produce nitrogen – a trait that makes them good companions to other crops, such as “Mr. Tomato.”
You may also view this script online, at: http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/80-8script_en.asp.

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