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Matilda Amoah, winner of the George Atkins Communications Award

Matilda Amoah first appeared on Todays FM in January 2016. She had received an invitation to participate in a panel discussion on one of the station’s programs. The show went well, and she was hooked on a new career. Ms. Amoah asked to join the radio station team.

She started as an English-language newscaster. As she gained experience in front of the microphone, she was asked to host other programs. “This was one of the crucial moments of my life,” she says.

She is currently a presenter on the farmer program called “Kuapa,” which is broadcast from Todays FM in Ejura, one of the breadbasket districts in the Ashanti region of Ghana. She has been hosting a program sponsored by Farm Radio International and the World Food Programme. This program addressed issues of weights and measures, which is an important marketing issue for farmers who want to get a fair price for their product.

This program has had a huge impact on the community. Farm Radio’s Ghana country representative Benjamin Fiafor says: “Through her persistent effort she has been able to push the Ejura District Assembly to convene meetings with other adjoining municipal and district assemblies to enact a common law for enforcing the standard weight and measure.”

Ms. Amoah has also become a maize farmer, learning from her own program and interviews with farmers and experts.

She is proud of her work. Ms. Amoah says: “Not only had I been given a voice, I had received a platform as a female farm broadcaster which I have used to encourage and inspire thousands of young people through my weekly programs. I have actively inspired more female and young farmers to do farming as a business by sharing agricultural information to remote rural communities, thereby supporting agricultural extension efforts through local languages.“

Radio has been part of Ms. Amoah’s life since childhood. She was raised by a single mother, whose struggle to raise five children demonstrated the values of hard work, determination, and grit that it takes to be successful. Ms. Amoah says that radio was an escape for her when she was a child. Listening to the voices on the radio allowed her to mentally drift away, ignoring her painful or discouraging situations, at least for a while.

Now she is one of those voices on the radio. She credits her communication skills and inquiring mind for helping her create an interesting radio program that explores new ideas each week. Thanks to the feedback mechanism, Uliza, provided by Farm Radio International, she is able to gather feedback from her listeners, who share their ideas and questions via mobile phones. She uses this listener information to ensure her program addresses the questions and interests of her audience.

She explains, “I have developed tailor-made solutions to problems expressed by small-scale rural farmers. Delivering timely and relevant information is primal to my passion in helping rural farmers.”

Matilda Amoah was one of three winners of the George Atkins Communications Award. The George Atkins Communications Award recognizes radio broadcasters for their excellence in serving their rural audience and commitment to Farm Radio International.

We will share profiles of all the winners and runners up, but to learn more about the other winners, go to: https://wire.farmradio.fm/en/spotlights/2019/09/all-three-winners-of-this-years-george-atkins-communications-award-show-commitment-to-farmers-and-farm-radio-international-18686 [1]