Climate Change

Early warning systems help small-scale farmers prepare for climate change
Resilience and climate change

Climate change is making extreme weather events more intense and frequent.  Warning systems that are accurate, easy to use and provide the right climate information help limit loss of life and livelihoods. With advance warning, small-scale farmers get precious time to store produce and animals safely and to prepare for disaster. Even when some damage is unavoidable, it can make it easier to recover. Yet only half of the least-developed countries

Webinar: What sub-Saharan African communities are saying about climate change
Resilience and climate change

What are rural sub-Saharan African communities saying about climate change? How can we bring their voices to influence decisions? How can you use these results to better influence and guide your own programs? That’s what we’re setting out to answer in this webinar. As part of Farm Radio International’s “On-Air for Gender-Inclusive Nature-based Solutions” project, they hosted a series of On Air Dialogues with rural people across sub-Saharan Africa, specifically

September 29: The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
Resilience and climate change

In the heart of Africa, where agriculture forms the lifeblood of communities and the backbone of economies, there exists a paradox. While the continent has vast agricultural potential and is home to diverse ecosystems and abundant natural resources, it faces a staggering challenge: food loss and waste. As we mark Food Loss and Waste Day 2023 with the theme “Reducing food loss and waste: Taking Action to Transform Food Systems“,

Digitalizing agriculture in rural Senegal
Rural Communication Services

Digital tools can help offset uncertainties in weather patterns caused by climate change. In Nioro, Senegal, Mamadou Drame, a father of four children, now looks down at a screen instead of up at the skies to understand the weather and know what to plant. Historical rain cycles have become increasingly unreliable because of climate change, upsetting patterns of planting and harvesting. Thankfully, digital innovations have stepped in, assisting him to

Young reporters bring the voices of COP27 to Africa’s radios (Reuters)
Spotlight

Siyabonga Mokoena is a 21-year-old radio host working with the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF). He is one of half a dozen young African reporters who attended the COP27 climate summit in Egypt to produce a series of podcasts on climate change to be broadcast on 15 radio stations around the continent. Before attending the conference, Mr. Mokoena was hard at work recording the stories of people whose lives have been

Listening to rural people 2022: A Farm Radio International and IFAD initiative
Publications

Over the course of October 2022, Farm Radio International worked with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and 7 African radio stations to facilitate three “On Air Dialogues” with rural people in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso about climate change adaptation. The response was remarkable, with over 14,000 people giving over 122,000 answers to questions and leaving over 9,000 voice messages about climate change adaptation experiences and needs. These dialogues

On Air Dialogues: Amplifying rural voices
Publications

The 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit aimed to identify solutions that improve livelihoods and food security. Small-scale farmers and rural people should play an essential role in this process. They are the backbone of the global food system, experts in their fields, and experienced in finding creative solutions. That’s why, over the course of three weeks in June 2021, and in partnership with six radio stations in Burkina Faso, Ghana,

Food Security in East Africa – Beyond the Headlines
Rural Communication Services

In early 2022, 12 million East Africans faced acute food insecurity, meaning that they did not even manage to eat one meal a day. By November 2022, that number has increased to 21 million people. It’s important to go beyond the headlines and statistics and remember that these are individual women, men and children who are suffering from hunger every day. That’s what Farm Radio International strove to do in our

Strengthening sustainable agricultural mechanization for climate smart agriculture in southern Africa
Family Farming

One of the major constraints to the expansion and modernization of agriculture is the low level and limited use of mechanization especially by smallholder farmers. In southern Africa, agriculture has been characterized by the application of basic agricultural tools resulting in tedious and laborious practices, drudgery and low productivity. Smallholder farmers in the region can earn a decent living from agriculture only if they adopt mechanization. The Food and Agriculture

World Food Forum: Transforming agrifood systems through digital technologies
Spotlight

The capacity and potential of digital technologies to help solve many complex problems in our agrifood systems came under the spotlight  at a special event of the World Food Forum’s Science and Innovation Forum. The Digitalization of Agrifood Systems event hosted last Friday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at its Rome headquarters, explored the digital capabilities and opportunities to usher transformational impact for vulnerable populations in