We are pleased to welcome many new African subscribers this week! Three are from Ghana: Samuel Nii Quarcoo from the farmers’ organization Quarcoo Initiatives Ltd., Justice Kofi Sakutey from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, and John Oheneba Konadu from the Bowiri Rural Radio Farmers Forum. We also welcome Tumaini Mwailenge from Faraja Development Trust in Tanzania, Ngotcho Tenke Vincent Marie from the NGO OVA in Cameroon, Pierre Kabwayintumba from the NGO Assistance pour le Développement Humain in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sagno Ezechiel from Les Amis de David in Guinea.
It seems that you can’t look at the news these days without seeing a story related to the high cost of food or the high cost of fuel. This week, we offer two stories that relate to both. Biofuels remain a hot topic because many people view fuel crops as a solution to dependence on fossil fuels, but the use of agricultural lands to produce fuel has been blamed, in part, for rising food prices and increased hunger. From Kenya, we report on a controversial plan to grow sugarcane for both ethanol and sugar on 20,000 hectares of coastal wetlands – and find out why local pastoralists say the plan threatens their livelihoods. We also have a story about farmers in different parts of the continent using draught power to increase food production without relying on tractors.
For your information, there will be no new FRW next week. We are taking a one-week publishing break and will return to your e-mail inboxes on Monday, July 28. In the meantime, why not visit the FRW website (http://farmradio.org/english/ [1]) and look through some past issues? Or browse through the Farm Radio International script archive at: http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/ [2].
Happy reading!
-The Farm Radio Weekly Team