By Deborah Torrington | Marketing Manager
Recently our American graduate student intern and project coordinator, Elyse, returned from working with our Zambian partner, Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO). For 3 months Elyse worked with Farm Talk radio producers, Filius and Ndabile, to provide small-scale farmers with critical information on sustainable conservation farming in their own language. Broadcast on the local station Breeze FM, Farm Talk (COMACO’s in-house radio program) reaches around 800,000 people weekly with information on how they can grow healthy harvests, practice conservation farming techniques and feed their families year-around. Farm Talk is also heard across the border in Malawi.
Elyse visited many farming families and witnessed Farm Talk’s popularity first-hand. Even non-registered COMACO farmers tune in. So trusted is the information, farmers are now joining COMACO farmer cooperatives in record numbers. Farm Talk allows isolated farmers to learn, without having to leave their families and stop working to feed their families It also creates a stronger community-based approach since farmers listen in groups, many of which use our Prime radios and now Lifeplayer MP3s. When the hour-long program is over, farmers discuss what they learned.
For example, one women’s group has used what they learned on Farm Talk to innovate their own farming methods, such as a new way to make compost, to further relieve the burden of heavy physical labor. Another is growing spices and herbs to dry and sell. Filius says this is the first time he has seen farmers take it upon themselves to be innovative and to collaborate.
As part of COMACO's ongoing commitment to farmer education, it has created a farmer executive training course which is downloaded onto our Lifeplayer MP3. This training course is educating community and cooperative leaders on leadership and good governance, conservation of the eco-systems, and agriculture and income-generating Activities. Elyse helped to develop the content and train leaders on how to best use and care for the Lifeplayer. The course is going strong and has proven to be so popular that farmers are asking for more listening groups.
Volunteer Lead Farmers are now traveling around the Luangwa Valley with their Lifeplayer, so more people can access the content. The Lifeplayer is also reaching those communities that do not receive radio signal. When her group was given a Lifeplayer, one woman said she was happy because now she wouldn’t be left behind. She knew the COMACO information worked and would help her family. Without the radio signal reaching her village, they had no way to follow Farm Talk. The media player feature solves this problem
Lifeline is deeply proud to see how our radio and MP3 are helping farmers grow and become food secure through the information they learn. In a region where malnutrition is alarmingly high, this information can be the difference between thriving and barely surviving. Your support will help us to continue to reach more farmers in isolated areas who are often left behind.
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