KENYA: SUCCESS STORY ON COCONUT

By Ondogo Wandagoa

Transmission of farmer voice programs has registered some success in Pwani FM after the station got a two month sponsorship on its vernacular sessions following audience response to farming tips. The vernacular session “dobe dobeza” got sponsorship in May  2010 after Mr. salim chiro, one of the vernacular hosts together with  FVR program producers started airing tips on coconut farming after attending a radio extension officers training in February. The station got overwhelming response from a number of listeners who were keen to know more about coconut farming after having listened to the first phase of transmission of Agricultural tips on Pwani FM.

 The main issues that the audience asked about included: better methods of planting, seed selection,  pest control, harvesting, marketing of coconut products and value addition. Farmers who listened to the Mijikenda show  asked a wide range of questions seeking to learn more about coconut farming and how they could increase production. With this realization the program host who had been trained by Farmer Voice Radio used this opportunity to approach the coconut development authority for expert information.

Salim says the desire to seek expert answers on coconut issues that farmers were asking him directly on air motivated him to approach the Kenya coconut development authority (KCDA) who are experts in coconut farming, for sponsorship of a special segment that would deal with coconut issues during his vernacular shows. The authority offered to sponsor the vernacular segment which runs for 2 hours, for a period of two months. During this time,  KCDA brought in experts for a live interview and call in sessions from Monday to Friday. Although the sponsorship ended in August 2010, KCDA has expressed interest in sponsoring  other session  later this financial year. The organization is also in process of getting funds to facilitate Pwani FM producers on a tour of all coconut growing areas to sensitize farmers to increase coconut farming.

This goes to show that Farmer voice radio programs and ideas, if well produced can increase station listenership and attract sponsorship for the station. Farmers in coast province need information even on things that producers might take for granted.
Collaboration with farmers’ organizations and firms/organizations that deal with farmers can enhance station content.

THE FVR RICE PLOT IN NKHOTAKOTA (MALAWI)

Mrs. Betcheles’ rice field with two plots, one using old broadcasting method and the other in drills adopted through Liwu La Mlimi

Many rice growing smallholder farmers in Nkhotakota are used to applying traditional methods of growing rice such as broadcasting. The coming of Liwu La Mlimi on Nkhotakota Community Radio has changed the mindset of many such farmers. They have started adopting better methods of growing rice to increase production and the quality of the crop. One such smallholder farmers  is Mrs. Mwenefeziya Betchele of Njumbula Radio Listening club.  Betchele is extremely appreciative of FVR Liu La Mlimi radio program on Nkhotakota Community radio for the knowledge and expertise she has acquired in rice production.  Before FVR, Betchele recalls that she knew nothing about growing rice in drills which creates good plant spacing, timely sowing and transplanting, timely weeding and fertilizer application as explained on Liwu La Mlimi FVR programs she listened to and practiced.

In an interview with broadcasters Betchele assured FVR team that this growing season with adequate rainfall she is optimistic of a bumper harvest of rice crop from “The FVR plot “,as she calls it, “for a wealthier year for her family”,  she mused.

FVR: MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN WOTALA VILLAGE

Luso Listener Club maize and tomato farm

The Luso Listener Club (Luso meaning “skill” in Chichewa) from Wotala village in Blantyre was set up with the help of the area’s Radio Extension Officer (REO), Mathias Thole. The club’s mission is to ensure food sufficiency and increase income for their families.Headed by a dynamic female chairperson, the group started listening to Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) programming on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and has continued to listen consistently, apart from when there is a funeral or a wedding in the village. The club has a constitution in place and has recorded all FVR programs and implemented many FVR practices.

Tree nursery for Listener Club afforestation project

The Listener Club members established a group farm where they have planted tomatoes and maize to improve their nutrition and sell the excess to buy a group radio and a group uniform to identify them in public places. The club now has a potential yield of about 1000 green maize cobs and 270kg of tomatoes on their farm. These crops are valued at MK38.000 and MK40.00, respectively.The Listener Club also planted approximately 876 trees, (worth approximately MK1.051, 200 after 3 years) for fire fuel. The chairperson reports: “Our average monthly income before FVR intervention was MK 860 per month per member and, after [the] FVR intervention [our] average monthly income now stands at MK1400 per month, per member”.

Luso Listener Club dance to the official FVR tune
 composed by the group for FVR programming
 on the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)

Listener Club members also store their cereals better due to an Agtip aired by MBC that taught them to mix wood with hot chili to preserve their cereals from pest attack. “How could we have known that wood ash preserves grains from weevil attack if it was not for the radio?” the chairperson remarks. “Our husbands now even help us to work on our farms and do some house chores. FVR has made us aware of gender issues”, she states.

FVR AG-TIPS DECREASE POST HARVEST LOSSES IN MCHINJI

Chief Kacheta: Leading by example

When Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) started hitting Mudzi Wathu Community Radio Station’s airwaves with Agricultural Tips (AgTips) on timely harvesting and methods of harvesting that minimize losses (including information on how to transport, dry, shell, treat, and store maize effectively), Chief Kacheta of Kacheta Village in Mchinji, Malawi, decided to lead by example.He was one of the very first people in his village to break away from the traditional practice of delayed harvesting that exposes yields to theft, weevil, termite and rats attack, thereby increasing post harvest losses.

“I like listening to radio”, the Chief said.  “... FVR AgTips on Mudzi Wathu Community Radio Station have really helped me appreciate that timely harvesting would improve my yields”.

After following the precise advice given in the AgTips, Chief Kacheta harvested 9½ ox-carts compared to only 5½ ox-carts that he usually harvested using the old practice.  The Chief explained that the people in his village saw the benefit of timely harvesting and decided to follow his example.  “Right now about 200 of the 250 households (over 80%) in my village have already harvested their maize this year”, he notes.

Pulasedesi Phiri, a widow with six children, is living testimony of the transformation that FVR AgTips have brought to Kacheta village. For the past two years, she only managed to harvest less than 1½ ox-carts per year: an inadequate amount to feed her family.  Her low yields were predominantly due to delayed harvesting that led to termites, weevils, rat attack, and theft.

Mrs Phiri with some of her children

Her story is different this year.  For the first time as a single parent, she has harvested 3½ ox-carts. “This is unbelievable! As you can see, my granary is filled to the brim”, Mrs Phiri boasts with a broad smile.  Mrs Phiri attributes her success to two major interventions: the farm input subsidy program implemented by the Government, and FVR Ag Tips on timely harvesting and recommended methods of harvesting, broadcast on Mudzi Wathu Community Radio Station.

“When I listened to the AgTips for the first time,” she said, “I thought to myself, this is one of those things we listen to and let go”.  However, after hearing the messages numerous times, she decided to try them out.

Mrs Phiri applauds her chief for leading by example. She appeals to her fellow farmers, particularly women, to listen to and implement FVR messages being broadcast on Mudzi Wathu Community Radio Station so that they too can improve their lives.

GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES AND SUPPORTS FVR AGRICULTURE EXTENSION STRATEGY IN MALAWI

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security,
 Prof. Peter Mwanza (center) in maize field
 with Mr. Zondawako Chagoma (left),
an FVR Listener Club member

For an Extension Planning Area (EPA) to qualify for the Minister of Agriculture’s annual crop inspection tour in Malawi, it takes great effort and resources. Each EPA presents a farmer profile to the Director of Agricultural services (DAES), Dr Grace Malinda. Based on these profiles, Dr Malinda selects the country’s top three farmers, and undertakes a final site inspection to confirm which farmer will receive the Minister’s visit.

Dr Malinda visited Chipoka EPA on December 23, 2010. Chipoka is one of three Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) community sites under the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in Lilongwe. The site has six Listener Clubs, set up by FVR, and another four self-started Listener Clubs that arose after the broadcast of an FVR Listener Club Campaign. Highly impressed with what she saw, Dr Malinda invited other EPAs to visit the site and plans were confirmed for the Minister’s visit to the area.

Mr. Zondawako Chagoma, an FVR Radio Farmer and member of the Chipoka FVR Listener Club, hosted the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Professor, Peter Mwanza, on January 12, 2011, and showed him around his farm. Mr. Chagoma testified that most of what he showcased on his farm was as a result of his attachment to Chipoka Listener Club and the fact that he followed the agricultural advice given through FVR programs. “I… followed the MBC [Malawi Broadcasting Corporation] Farmer Voice Radio NARA[National Agriculture Radio Agenda]-based programs on star practices, which included… one-one planting of maize, manure making and application, crop diversification, agroforestry, use of hybrid seeds, and conservation agriculture” he recalls. As an FVR Radio Farmer, Mr. Chagoma’s practices are broadcast nation-wide, through the FVR “megaphone”, for other smallholder farmers to learn from.

Chipoka Radio Listener Club

During his speech, the Minister stated that, “The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security not only supports FVR’s work at Ministry level but also recognizes the contribution FVR is making at [a] local level”. The Ministers’ sentiments were echoed when Dr Malinda reported at a subsequent FVR Project Steering Committee meeting that the Ministry was very happy with the manner in which FVR radio stations help to disseminate information regarding government subsidy distribution programs to smallholder farmers through FVR programming. “It is a wonderful partnership”, she said, with appreciation.

FVR RADIO FARMER SHARES HIS KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHER FARMERS ACROSS KENYA

Mr. Kanyingi explains a point about
 bee keeping at his farm in Machakos

Sospeter Kanyingi, an FVR Radio Farmer from Machakos, Kenya, has been keeping bees for the past five years. He received training from the National Bee Keeping Institute in Nairobi, where he received expert information about bees that helped him to improve the way he operates his enterprise. In October 2010, Mr. Kanyingi was interviewed by FVR and the recording was broadcast on the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s (KBC) Kiswahili service. He talked about the benefits of bee keeping and various bee products.

From the time the program went on air, Mr. Kanyingi started receiving calls from farmers across the country. He estimates that he received over 60 calls within three months of the first broadcast, with some listeners making repeat calls to get further information. Two farmer groups in Western and Northern Kenya invited him to teach them about bee keeping, even offering to meet the costs for his travel.

“The radio is a teacher that reaches very far without being seen,” says Mr. Kanyingi. He recognizes the importance of radio as a source of agricultural information, as farmers hear and learn from fellow farmers.  He reports that the farmers who have called have tried the recommended practices, as they first tell him what they know before requesting further information.

As an FVR Radio Farmer, Mr Kanyingi feels that his knowledge is valued by other farmers. His experience with FVR has encouraged him to undertake more research on bees so that he can be more resourceful. “From their questions, the farmers have made me aware that I have knowledge that is useful for them; something I previously took for granted”, he says.

KENYA: YOUNG FARMERS SERVE AS ROLE MODELS TO OTHER YOUTH

The Meganjo Youth Group working
 around their greenhouse

The Meganjo Youth Group in Nyeri (Central Kenya) came together with the purpose of helping one another succeed through carrying out agricultural income generating activities. The youth initially grew and marketed sukuma wiki (kale) as a group. However, lack of access to capital and land hampered their success.

Impressed with the enthusiasm of the young people, the local assistant chief awarded them a piece of land for construction of a greenhouse. The 23 members received training from a greenhouse expert and a Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) Radio Extension Officer (REO), on greenhouse husbandry and small business skills. They have subsequently implemented various practices that they have heard on FVR programming, including harvesting rain water for drip irrigation to ensure a good tomato yield. The youth hope to generate approximately Ksh 70,000 ($850) per month from May to August from the sale of their tomatoes.

Young farmers prepare a tomato
seedbed for their greenhouse

The greenhouse is used as a model for other youth to learn, by recording and documenting of the group’s activities for broadcast through FVR. Initial interviews conducted with the youth on greenhouse tomato farming and group dynamics have already been broadcast. Other radio messages have subsequently been generated from the greenhouse project for inclusion on future FVR programming.

The youth group members are excited that their voices are being heard on the radio and that they are role models for other youth. They plan to expand their activities to poultry production and other horticultural products (such as sweet pepper, which is of high demand in the local market), having heard about these types of farming from FVR programs.