Nelly Bassily | April 9, 2012
This week’s first story is a preview of next week’s special edition on land issues. It touches on three land-related stories – from Malawi, Mozambique and Kenya. Land issues are all over the news these days –it is becoming common to see stories on land grabbing, women’s fight for equality of land ownership, and secure access to land for small-scale farmers. As a broadcaster, it’s important to familiarize yourself with national, regional and customary laws concerning land and land ownership in your region.
Our second story comes from northern Namibia. For a fourth consecutive year, farmers’ fields have been flooded by heavy rains. But the farmers are fighting back. With the aid of shovels, hoes, and other hand equipment, they are digging drainage canals to direct excess water away from crops. Their efforts appear to be bearing fruit.
This week’s Resource section directs broadcasters to an organization called La Via Campesina. To mark the International Day of Peasant Struggle on April 17, the NGO is focussing on land grabs. La Via Campesina invites people everywhere to send information on local examples of land grabs. To mark April 17, the organization will post a map on its website, showing the location, acreage, and persons or organizations involved with each land grab, as well as all actions taken to protest land grabs.
Happy reading!
-The Farm Radio Weekly team