Nelly Bassily | February 13, 2012
This week’s issue salutes World Radio Day, an annual day which will be celebrated for the first time on February 13th of this year. We mark this special day with four stories specially written for Farm Radio Weekly. Each tells the story of a farmer who is never without a radio!
Our first story takes place in Kenya. When a local radio station in western Kenya interviewed a mushroom farmer and broadcast her contact information, the woman’s business took off. Farmers called her for information, visited her and invited her to their farms. Joan Kimokoti now runs a successful mushroom business and has trained more than 300 other farmers to grow mushrooms.
Our second story comes from Zambia, where a farmer took advantage not only of market prices broadcast on QFM, but of recommendations on which markets were best for selling her fully-grown pigs. Guided by the information she hears on QFM, she sells her pigs for a good profit.
In the Republic of Congo, an indigenous woman’s life was transformed by listening to Biso na Biso radio station. Simone Botékéwas inspired by the story of indigenous women farmers who were growing their own cassava. Soon after, Simone started growing her own vegetables.
Our final story comes from Malawi, where a vegetable farmer took advantage of advice he heard on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. Goodson Chisaleka now makes a good living selling vegetables door-to-door in Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe.
Don’t forget to read through the other sections of the Weekly. And stay tuned for next week’s issue, when we report on World Radio Day celebrations in Mali.
Happy reading!
-The Farm Radio Weekly team