Nelly Bassily | June 3, 2013
Hello and welcome to the latest Farm Radio Weekly. Issue #248 introduces stories from Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania and Malawi.
The first two stories focus on how farmers get their crops to market and sell them for the right price. The village of Mayéyé, in Congo-Brazzaville, is two hundred kilometres from the main commercial centre. Farmers had to rely on visiting traders to sell their harvest. But once connecting roads were improved, Blaise Mantsié trucked his own produce to town and tripled his earnings.
Tanzanian cassava farmer, Abushir Swaleh Bushir, realized that high yields were not enough. He needed to sell all his cassava to make a decent profit. Rather than relying on the markets he could reach easily, he moved to the right location, closer to the city.
People who make their living from farming and fishing are dependent on water for their incomes. The symptoms of climate change − diminishing rainfall and increased temperatures − are lowering water levels in Lake Malawi, Africa’s third largest lake. Fish stocks are plummeting, and the economic and nutritional effects are staring to affect people living around the lake, and in the country beyond.
The African Story Challenge is a new $1 million program of awards to encourage innovative, multi-media storytelling. The competition is open to all African journalists aged 18 and above, whether based in or outside of the continent. Find out more, and how to get involved, below.
This week, we are launching the NEW Barza. Sign up today at www.barza.fm/welcome and read the Action section to learn more.
We hope that these stories inspire your programming!
-the Farm Radio Weekly team