- Barza Wire - https://wire.farmradio.fm -

Welcome to all!

Over the past few weeks, we have been thrilled to watch the FRW subscription list grow to include more radio organizations, more organizations dedicated to small-scale farming and rural development, and more supporters. This week, we extend a special welcome to our newest subscribers: Ejobi Joseph, from the rural extension agency, Rohie Systems, in Uganda, and Benjamin Kudjoe Fiafor, from Farm Radio’s African Farm Radio Research Initiative in Ghana (AFRRI Ghana). We want as many people as possible to make use of this service, so please invite your colleagues to get their free subscription at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/partners/fr_weekly_subscribe.asp [1].

This week’s news stories offer a window on two phenomena that are changing the face of African agriculture – the rapid rise in food prices and the boom in cell phone use. In the first story, we look at how food price hikes are encouraging city dwellers to grow crops in any space that is available. In our second story, we hear about two services that allow farmers to “call-up” information on crops and livestock, via cell phones or conventional phones.

If you see trends like these happening in your area, why not take a moment to share your experience with other FRW community members by posting a comment on the FRW website (http://weekly.farmradio.org/ [2])? Or e-mail FRW Editor Heather Miller to “pitch” a story idea. To pitch an idea, simply send a few sentences that describe your idea to hmiller@farmradio.org. If you’re interested in researching and writing the story yourself, Heather can work with you to prepare a story that fits the FRW style.Finally, you won’t want to miss this week’s Farm Radio Action section, where we share the story of a Farm Radio partner, Zimbabwe’s Radio Voice of the People. This organization has survived attacks and arrests, and overcome a maze of regulatory and technological blocks, to bring Zimbabweans an alternative to the state-run broadcaster.

Happy reading!

-The Farm Radio Weekly Team