Farmers' Voice Radio

FVR, developed by the Lorna Young Foundation (LYF) acts as a fast, affordable and wide-reaching agricultural extension approach for disaster affected communities, combining indigenous knowledge of farmers with expert advice to create free-flowing, informative radio programs on a variety of topics. Discussions are edited into 15-minute programs and broadcast over a popular local radio station. Unique with this approach is that farmers are the experts, dominating majority of the conversations while extension officers and radio presenters merely act as facilitators and not teachers. This has created trusted information that not only challenges attitudes and perceptions, but also encourages the adoption of new practices to cope with natural disasters.

Results

Climate & Weather

Improved ability to anticipate changes in weather and to adopt different practices that make their farms and homes more resilient.

Livelihood diversification

Take-up of alternative subsistence and livelihood activities, such as mushroom growing and poultry keeping, to diversify food and income sources.

Sustainable Land Management

Improved land management techniques, to increase yields and prevent soil erosion during heavy rains.

National-Scale Impact Based Forecasting of Flood Risk in Uganda (NIMFRU) project

2019 - 2020

The NIMFRU project aims to support communities in the Katakwi District of Uganda to become more resilient to flooding by ensuring they have the right information at the right time. Farmers Voice Radio (FVR) is an initiative by the UK’s Lorna Young Foundation that uses participatory local radio to enable farming communities to access and share the knowledge they need to succeed. FVR is being implemented as part of NIMFRU to create and broadcast weekly radio programmes that bring timely, relevant and appropriate advice based on localised weather information and an evidence-based understanding of local livelihoods into people’s homes and fields.

ECOTRUST had the opportunity to play a lead implementing role in the Farmers’ Voice Radio (FVR) component of the NIMFRU (National-Scale Impact Based Forecasting of Flood Risk in Uganda) research project (2019 – 2020), targeting the flood affected communities of Katakwi district, Eastern Uganda.

Episodes of the radio programme dubbed “Akautu Akoriok” which translates to ‘Farmers See Light’ were broadcast weekly over the duration of 9 months by ETOP Radio – Soroti to approximately 67,000 people across the Teso landscape (Eastern Uganda).

2019 - 2020

Climate Champions

Project Gallery

The NIMFRU – FVR project saw the adoption of new practices amongst target communities in Katakwi district such as cultivation on higher land; planting of fast maturing crops; greater food preservation; construction of stronger houses using burnt bricks and other damp-proof materials; building trenches to avert flash floods etc..building the resilience of these vulnerable communities to climate change effects.

Angela Gabriel - FAMVAC participant from Anyangabella reads through the UNMA weather outlook for March, April and May

2020 - 2021

The FVR approach extended to the Mount Elgon landscape in August 2020 under the Farmers’ Voice Radio (FVR) for Mount Elgon Project, led by ECOTRUST, working with local partners MEACCE (Mt Elgon Agroforestry Communities Cooperative Enterprise Ltd.) and RA (Rainforest Alliance).

FVR for Mount Elgon, supported by the Lorna Young Foundation, with funding from Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission and Rainforest Alliance, aims to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices in sustainable coffee production in the Mount Elgon region (Eastern Uganda) focusing primarily on 3000 plus cooperative farmers.

Project Gallery

Similar to the NIMFRU project, the FVR for Mount Elgon project uses participatory radio to disseminate information to targeted beneficiaries, combining farmers’ indigenous knowledge with expert advice to create free-flowing, informative radio programs, broadcast weekly over popular local radio stations i.e. Open Gate Radio – Mbale district and Elgon FM Radio – Kapchorwa district.

Topics of discussion for the radio programmes revolve around the five following thematic areas of;

Residents of the Mount Elgon region can tune into Open Gate FM – every Monday at 2:30pm and Friday at 7:00pm and listen for “Mwikoyo Gwe’ mwanyi” or Elgon FM Kapchorwa every Thursday at 8pm and Saturday at 10 am for the Kupsabiny version.