Winter 2021 farmradio.org

FINDING RAINFALL RADIO, TECHNOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

Peter Kakanji brushes his with the World Food Programme, traditional grazing, travelling from teeth, using bristles of a stick developed the Climate and place to place in order to access as a toothbrush. He looks to the Weather Information Services for enough pasture land. But changes sky for signs of imminent rainfall Farmers project last year. in rainfall patterns have cost because he heard last night on The two partners worked in him as he moves from one place the radio that it would rain today. collaboration with the Tanzania to another. “The rains started early this Meteorological Authority, For local farmers, and especially year and it’s still raining in several three radio stations, and district women, the changing climate parts of the country, following the and local extension workers causes similar issues. Often, there same pattern as broadcast on the in three districts in Northern is little to no warning of extreme, radio,” he says. Tanzania to take weather or different weather, leaving them Peter is a pastoralist who lives in forecasts, interpret them, and scrambling when things aren’t Mairowa village in Longido district, explain what that means for what they expect. about 90 kilometres north of farmers—all through radio and To help, we created AgriTips, Arusha in northern Tanzania. He mobile phones. short statements with useful herds 150 goats, 120 sheep, and Peter says compared to information, in Swahili and Maasai 80 cows, but pasture is limited. To normal weather broadcasts, the so that no matter the language, keep them healthy, Peter moves information he receives is more listeners could understand. Our them throughout the year, looking extensive. Extension workers “Beep4Weather” system that for better water and grazing. provide guidance on the rains allowed farmers to call in and get The risks of moving livestock and recommend good agricultural direct access to weather forecasts, from one place to another include practices and advice on when to saw an astounding 42,925 diseases and loss of animals. To prepare fields and on the best interactions over the course of avoid these problems, Peter uses seeds to plant. We also formed the project. Overall, an estimated weather information to help him more than 60 community listening 450,000 people listened to the make decisions—like when to groups, who received yellow solar- programs in northern Tanzania. reserve enough pasture land powered radios to listen As Maria Mtero, a farmer from for his livestock. to the programs. Oltepesi village, euphemistically That’s why Farm Radio For decades, Peter and his put it: “The yellow radio brought International, in partnership family of 14 have been practicing rain to Longido.”

READING ON THE WAVES

From their home in Liberia, a time they have worked directly in new words, and engages with student sits next to their radio Sierra Leone and Liberia. children similar to an in-class set, flipping pages in a book as For an hour every evening over story-time. They’ll teach students they read along with the voice on 13 weeks, students and guardians the “word of the day,” something the radio. have been reading along to radio they’ll define and ask students to The word of the day today is programs. Different stories in the pay attention to when they read “safety.” It’s featured in the story Reading on the Waves anthology on their own. “Sarah stays home.” The story is talk about safety, handwashing, They are followed up by one of many in Reading on the gender equality, math — even short interviews or call-ins with Waves, an anthology written by local folklore — in entertaining, students who answer questions local writers in Liberia and Sierra locally relevant ways. from the previous day’s program, Leone that has been delivered to But the programs are not just or who share how their learning households across each country. that. Broadcast on ten radio is going. The radio program has the stations, each program is hosted The programs also support same name, and is part of a by one radio broadcaster and one adults helping children with project being run by Farm Radio teacher — so the magic of radio literacy learning by hosting International and CODE in the two can combine with good pedagogy parents and resource people, countries, thanks to funding from to create programs that are both and discussing topics like gender Global Affairs Canada. entertaining and educational. equality, nutrition, and sleep. The two Canadian NGOs have They include brief COVID-19 And of course, there’s a call paired up to ensure that reading safety reminders, spelling lessons, back section. doesn’t get left behind, especially and activities designed to be On a recent program, a student due to setbacks and school done at home — like using called into Radio Kolenten in closures during the COVID-19 measuring cups for rice, Sierra Leone to answer what they crisis. The project also marks the or drawing and identifying like about living and learning with first time Farm Radio International different family members. their family. has run programs targeting The programs host a teacher, “I am learning good things,” literacy specifically, and the first who reads the stories, points out they said. “WHY I SUPPORT FARM RADIO INTERNATIONAL” Farmers like Alé Baldé, pictured above in her community of Saré Samba Netty, in southern Senegal, are supported by donors like M. Lee Geyer, who says she donates in order to support farmers with food security and with the effects of climate change.

How does one decide which charity or nonprofit keeping girls in high school instead of marrying too to focus on, beyond the many little donations we all young; about correcting false rumors about the make? It depends first on your values, I think. My coronavirus; about wives being able to manage earliest sense of an identity I could choose for myself the money from their own enterprises; and much was “citizen of the world,” chosen long ago, while I more. Including farmers on the air brings interest was in college, as the result of summers living and to broadcasts. Farm Radio also funds a variety of learning at the International House in New York City. programs to promote the professional effectiveness Then, among the huge number of nonprofits of the broadcasters who use its scripts. doing good work in the world, how to choose? After Since 2006, when Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient several other involvements that I learned from, I Truth” put the pieces together for me, my main now choose Farm Radio International. I choose Farm work focus has been as a local climate organizer. Radio because it is so effective at reaching large Therefore, food security is especially on my radar. numbers of small-scale women and men farmers all Farmers are challenged world-wide by too much or over Africa, using the only broadcast medium that too little rain, rising temperatures and the invasion of most rural families have — radio — to spread high- new pests that climate changes can cause. Where the quality information. This is much more effective than infrastructure and resources to help farmers adapt seeding a few projects here and there on the ground. to the changes are weakest — across the countries I am a strong believer in the saying “Teach a of Africa — Farm Radio’s work is really critical! This family to fish” — or to fish better. Empowering understanding inspired me to also make a bequest to farmers to adopt better methods is so much more Farm Radio International in my will. effective than handouts, which get used up and don’t I’ve shared my thought process in the hope that create lasting improvements. some of you who read this will consider making Farm I also prefer to donate to a smaller organization Radio the main nonprofit you support. than to a “big name” one. I’m not a millionaire. My capacity to donate to Farm Radio International makes M. Lee Geyer a meaningful (to me) difference in the organization’s ability to carry out its mission. If you would like to learn more about Farm Radio pursues a number of strategies I think how to make a bequest to Farm Radio are important: providing information about the International, please contact Brenda Jackson nutritional value of better crop varieties; about crop at [email protected] or by calling us preservation; about marketing techniques during at 1-888-773-7717 x 3646. coronavirus closure of physical markets; about COVID-19 SUPPORT FUND MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Thanks to funding from the government of Canada, Jeremi Kyaswekera, from Radio Communautaire through Global Affairs Canada, we were able to offer Salama, Democratic Republic of Congo. The team at a COVID-19 Support Fund to broadcasters in 12 the station, known locally as “the voice of women” countries across Africa. used the support funding to go to the community We’ve been able to get $170,000 into the hands of well protected and share the specific impacts of 140 stations who have been doing important work to COVID-19 on women. keep their communities safe. Here are what a few of “In this program, we have given voice to the them had to say: population … as a way for us to hear their concerns Javura Twizukye, program manager at Rubanda during this period of COVID-19 … The housewives Tukore FM, Uganda, who, thanks to new equipment who we consulted noted that … this confinement from the support fund, was able to send reporters also affects their lives and homes; they have extra (safely) to the field to address issues farmers burdens because the children did not go to school were having. [and] many husbands stayed at home without work.” “When we have recordings from a real farmer, it convinces another farmer in another area to really OTHER RESULTS FROM believe … When we are talking about a certain issue, OUR COVID-19 EMERGENCY WORK it will bring us closer to them. As they listen at their ONLINE DISCUSSIONS BROADCASTER RESOURCES fields, it brings them closer to us. We are hand-in- hand educating each other.” 63 25 Ousmane Diarra, a chief of staff at Radio Savoir BROADCASTERS COUNTRIES FM, whose team, thanks to the support funding, interviewed survivors of COVID-19 in order to 2,000+ 12 combat widespread disbelief about the disease. LANGUAGES CALLS TO HOTLINE “Truly, it was very difficult to contend with certain people in order to raise awareness, because many 20 3,000 weren’t worried at all … These reports, and the interviews of the experts, were our only forces to Thank you to you, our supporters this past year. motivate the average person on the real existence of You allowed us to quickly pivot our programming to COVID-19 and to push them to respect the protective respond to the immediate needs of millions of African measures advised by our health authorities.” communities with reliable, accurate information.

Farm Radio International Donate online at farmradio.org 1404 Scott Street | Ottawa, Ontario | K1Y 4M8 Tax receipts are issued for all donations We make radio a powerful force for good in Tel: 613-761-3650 | Fax: 613-798-0990 of $10 or more. rural Africa — one that shares knowledge, Toll-free: 1-888-773-7717 Charitable Registration Number (BN) amplifies voices, and supports positive change. Email: [email protected] | www.farmradio.org 11888 4808 RR0001

Contributors: Tara Sprickerhoff, Sylivester Domasa, M. Lee Geyer, Hannah Tellier, Brenda Jackson, & Erimelinda Temba Design: Tom Jansen