Nelly Bassily | July 22, 2013
Farm Radio Weekly has a new trial resource for you: Farmer news briefs. These are stories from across the continent which have been adapted from print or online sources and are suitable for use in your regular farm radio program. Read them, edit them, broadcast them, localize them, or simply use them as background info. Want more details? Click the link under the story to see the original article.
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1-Food insecurity threatens 1.2 million in Uganda’s northeast
According to the Ugandan government and aid agencies, more than 230,000 people in Uganda’s northeastern region of Karamoja cannot meet their minimum food needs. Almost a million more face “stressed” levels of food insecurity.
Erratic and poorly distributed rainfalls have impacted staple crop production in the region.
A government minister said the government is working closely with the World Food Programme to feed the population. But it is estimated that food security will continue to be a challenge for the next two to three months.
Original story: http://www.irinnews.org/report/98393/food-insecurity-threatens-1-2-million-in-uganda-s-northeast
2-Kenya’s Maasai herders train as solar technicians
Until recently, Maasai youth in Kenya’s southern region could imagine only one occupation in their future: raising cattle.
Chronic droughts are making livestock an unreliable source of income. But the future is bright for young Maasai men who are embracing an unfamiliar vocation: solar entrepreneurship.
A Netherlands-based organization is providing training and support for new solar technicians to bring much-needed solar power to schools and homes. So far this year, about seventy trainees have sold more than 200 portable solar lanterns, and eight primary schools have been fitted with solar lighting.
Original story: http://www.trust.org/item/20130715103725-qz2bk/?source=hptop
3-Young farmers turn to social media to adapt to climate change
Social media are helping young farmers in Kenya’s Rift Valley adapt to climate change.
Young Volunteers for the Environment is the Kenyan chapter of a pan-African organization. The group has helped 32-year-old Julius Cheruiyot, a long-time farmer, adapt to climate change.
He says the organization’s social media site helps him get information about rainfall so he can plant crops at the right time. He’s already seen higher yields.
The group has more than 1000 followers who access information and engage in online discussions about farming.
Original story: http://www.trust.org/item/20130716085920-k63xg