Moses Muruli, news editor and producer at Radio Kitara, Uganda

| January 6, 2020

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Moses Muruli has been working in radio for the past 12 years in various capacities. Currently, he is the news editor and farmer program producer at Radio Kitara in Masindi, Uganda. Moses says that what attracted him to radio was the opportunity to serve farmers—he wanted to speak for and help the oppressed, people who have no voice in his community.

Mr. Muruli has received several trainings from Farm Radio International through various projects and has used these trainings to produce good interactive farmer programs. He identifies topics that are timely and relevant to the communities his radio station serves. He finds out about the issues that concern his farmers through interacting with non-governmental organizations, and by attending farmer agricultural shows and forums and government agricultural meetings.

In order to produce participatory radio programs, Mr. Muruli and his team go to the field to interact with farmers and record their voices. Plus, the broadcasters invite other experts into the studio to discuss issues that farmers want to hear about.

Mr. Muruli has produced programs on issues such as reducing post-harvest losses, mitigating climate change, farming as a business, and managing soil fertility. He says that one challenging topic that enabled him to interact with the communities was Fall armyworm. The team visited communities and sensitized farmers about the risks of the pest, and the program achieved positive results.

Mr. Muruli subscribes to Barza Wire stories and Resource Packs, which he integrates into his weekly radio shows. He provides a platform for listeners to call the studio and ask questions and share their experiences. He notes that he has received feedback from listeners who appreciate the program and report that they use the information on the radio to change their lives.

Mr. Muruli emphasizes the value of creating interesting and memorable programs by including farmers’ voices and participation in the shows, and by choosing topics that are relevant, timely and that reflect the crop calendar for various crops.

Although he faces a lot of challenges producing good interactive, participatory radio programs, Mr. Muruli is thankful to his management for providing the support he needs to serve and reach his farmers. Reaching and serving farmers is what motivates him to keep doing his work.

Moses Muruli was a runner-up for the 2019 George Atkins Communications Award. Read the profiles of the winners and runners-up in the Spotlight section.