Security issues: Food, shelter and fishing grounds

    | September 22, 2014

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    Hello! Welcome to Farm Radio Weekly issue #305. This edition has an East African flavour. Farmers are profiting from an improved variety of banana in Rwanda; we look at the security situation for women and girls in camps for displaced people in South Sudan; and we hear about the explosive situation in Tanzanian fisheries.

    In 2006, the Rwandan government introduced a policy of regional crop specialization. This means that farmers in different parts of the country are required to embrace new varieties of, and new ideas about, their crops. Farmer Laurent Mushingwamana found bananas to his liking.

    The civil war in South Sudan has forced thousands from their homes to escape violence and bloodshed. One hundred thousand people are internally displaced and have sought solace in UN camps. But are the camps protecting women and girls from sexual violence?

    Tanzanian fisherfolk are resorting to explosives to land bigger catches! Stunning a shoal of fish with a stick of dynamite can mean big profits. But the damage caused to the maritime environment may result in the loss of fishing grounds and coral reefs.

    This week, we present the first in an occasional series of articles which feature our broadcasting partners. After taking part in an FRI pilot project on weather services for farmers, Rotlinde Achimpota initiated a farming program on her station, the Arusha-based Mambo Jambo. Read more in the Action section below.

    Give someone a fish, and you feed them for a day; teach a person how to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime. Unless someone uses dynamite to catch all the fish at once …

    Have a happy and peaceful week!

    the Farm Radio Weekly team