Kwabena Mensa, a small holder cocoa farmer in rural Ghana, readily testifies that the seasons have changed, and he no longer plants his crop in mid-year as he used to more than ten years ago.
He has also noticed that the weather is a little changed lately and harvesting is now delayed by a couple of months or so. Although he knows this can be attributed to climate change, he does not wholly understand why that is so.
Small holder farmers in Africa are already experiencing the impact of climate change. Weather patterns are changing, extreme weather events becoming more common, and ancient calendars for planting, weeding and harvesting are no longer valid. The threat of food shortages, crop failures, and growing deserts are real and immediate.
While African farmers are adapting and developing some coping strategies on their own, they need new information about farming methods that minimize the negative impact of climate change. A major challenge is providing such information to large numbers of people at low cost.
Radio broadcasts can help address this challenge because they are spoken-word, often in local languages, building on Africa’s oral culture and therefore not constrained by illiteracy. The technology for broadcasting and receiving broadcasts are widely available and affordable. Information can be delivered to farmers’ homes at a cost of pennies per program.
A Canadian charity is leading two new initiatives that help African radio stations to reach farmers with important information about adapting to climate change. Farm Radio International supports broadcasters in meeting the needs of local small-scale farmers and their families in rural communities, and helps broadcasters build the skills to develop content that responds to local needs.
These initiatives facilitate an exchange of information that is aimed at increasing food supplies and improving nutrition and health in a simple, safe and practical manner. Farmers are taught ecologically sound and environmentally sustainable farming methods to improve on their crops which require little or no technical help to implement. What’s more, the initiatives ensure gender sensitivity to meet the needs of both women and men.
“These exciting new initiatives will directly reach the small-scale farmers who will be most effected by climate change. These farmers are on the front lines of climate change, experiencing the effects right now, and radio can reach them where they live with the information they need”, says Kevin Perkins, Executive Director of FRI.
300 radio broadcasters in 39 African countries are involved with FRI to fight poverty and food insecurity. FRI researches and produces radio scripts on rural development issues and distributes them to the broadcasters who interpret and use the scripts to provide their listeners with practical information about farming, land management, health and other issues.
FRI has now launched African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), a 42-month action research project in Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania. A collaboration between FRI and World University Service of Canada and funded by a US$4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AFRRI will gather, implement, evaluate, and share best practices for using radio-based communication strategies to enhance food security in rural Africa.
The project hopes to provide answers to questions like:
* How do African farmers use the information they hear on the radio? What information is most useful?
* What format is best able to engage and empower farmers?
* How can radio stations make use of cheap and accessible mobile phones, MP3 players, and other communication technologies to extend their reach and improve interaction with listeners?
Image Credit: Farm Radio International
