Nelly Bassily | February 25, 2008
In April 2007, DCFRN launched an action research project known as the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI). With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this 42 month initiative will discover and document best practices for using radio-based communications to enhance food security in Africa. In particular, it will answer:
-How and in what ways is radio most effective in enabling smallholder farmers in Africa to address the food security challenges that they face?
-How can new communication technologies such as cell phones, satellite radio and MP3 players increase the effectiveness of radio as a sustainable, interactive development communication tool?
AFRRI’s main offices are in Accra, Ghana, and Kampala, Uganda, with project offices in Mali, Malawi, and Tanzania. In each of these five countries, five radio partners have been chosen. Each partner will be supported in developing and broadcasting a variety of innovative radio programs, using a wide range of formats that engage farmers in addressing food security priorities. By comparing farmers’ knowledge and farming practices before and after the programs are broadcast, project participants will learn how radio and other communication technologies can best be used to meet farmers’ food security objectives.
To view updates on the progress of AFRRI, and eventually the full results of the initiative, please visit our website:
http://www.farmradio.org/english/programs/affri.asp.
If you have any questions about the project, please contact AFRRI Program Officer Sheila Huggins-Rao at shrao@farmradio.org