admin | May 2, 2016
Doris Zawor is a farmer in Dzodze, a village in the Volta Region of Ghana. Mrs. Zawor owns a successful bakery, creating many of her specialties with orange-fleshed sweet potato, or OFSP. She makes a variety of recipes, including stew and bread, from the orange tuber.
Many of these tasty recipes were shared over the airwaves by Faafa FM, a radio station that broadcasts in the Volta Region. Faafa FM has been promoting OFSP to its listeners as part of a project with Farm Radio International.
OFSP contains lots of vitamin A—an important vitamin for fighting infections, bone development, eye health, and overall health. It is particularly useful for pregnant women and children.
And what better way to promote the tuber than by sharing tasty recipes!
Cooking shows allow listeners to hear how delicious and easy to cook OFSP is. With a few recipes in mind, listeners may be more likely to grow and eat the tuber.
“The cook show … was very good,” says Mrs. Zawor. “I learned how to use [OFSP] to make bofrot [and] chips, and how to use the leaves for tea and stew.”
Faafa FM recorded clips for the cooking show at events in schools and community gathering places. Community members cooked their favourite OFSP recipes. Broadcasters then tasted and described the dish, and asked the cooks to share the recipes with those at the event and people in the listening audience. Cooking shows are most effective when they capture the sounds of cooking and participants’ descriptions of the ingredients and the final product.
Photo credit: Faafa Fm
Cooking shows have also been aired in Uganda, as part of the same Farm Radio International project to promote OFSP.
Namulema Jane is a farmer from Kitangira village, near the southern border of Uganda. She tuned in to a cooking show on CBS FM, which broadcasts to the whole country. She heard recipes that were so delicious that her listening group wanted a personal demonstration.
She recalls: “It was after listening to the radio program as a group that we decided to invite a member from Luwawulo village to come and show us how to bake cakes, chapattis, and pancakes made from [OFSP].”
Cooking shows are entertaining and highly useful, as many listeners are looking for new recipes. Plus, farmers trust other farmers when it comes to which foods are best to grow—and to eat.
Main photo credit: Faafa Fm