Nelly Bassily | July 22, 2013
Hello and welcome to issue #254 of Farm Radio Weekly. This issue talks about a bright future for sweet potato farmers in Kenya, a Ugandan widow who profits from pigs, and farmers in Cameroon who supply their market with a locally scarce commodity.
Following an outbreak of cassava disease in Kenya, scientists developed a new type of sweet potato. Farmer Henry Ochieng was trained how to grow the new variety and how to multiply sweet potato vines. He is now supplying vines to farmers across the region and making a good profit.
Aida Among contracted HIV before the death of her husband. But through a government-assisted project, she has turned her life around by raising pigs. Along with other beneficiaries of the project, she is finding a ready market for her animals and has significantly improved her livelihood.
Cameroon is one of the largest producers of palm oil in Africa. But most of its oil is exported to other countries. Farmers in the Littoral Region of Cameroon have responded to the shortage of cooking oil in local markets by processing their own oil palm fruits in locally-run mills.
Interactive radio works! Farmers in Tanzania learned to embrace a plant they once thought was a weed. Now it’s boosting fertility in their soils. You can read about a Participatory Radio Campaign which three local stations broadcast with Farm Radio International’s help in the Action section.
So, put your feet up and take a few moments to enjoy our stories!
-the Farm Radio Weekly team