-
Uganda: Woman broadcaster scatters seeds of understanding via the radio
A car approaches Omwonya village, splashing through potholes and shuddering across the undulations of the wet and muddy road. Dozens of farmers have gathered in welcome. As they spot broadcaster Sarah Adongo in the car, women begin to ululate and dance. As she steps out of the vehicle, the men join in with rapturous applause.…
-
Tanzania: The Crop Doctor is in the Market
Dark clouds fill the sky, blocking the view of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. Rain pours down on the bustling market in Himo town, about 100 kilometres east of Arusha. Farmers come from all over northern Tanzania to visit the bi-weekly “plant clinic” at the market. Some even travel across the border from neighbouring Kenya. Wilson Mchomvu…
-
Tanzania: Intercropping and companion planting get results
Just three kilometres south of Arusha’s dusty, congested streets, the village of Engo Sengiu sits at the end of a long, bumpy dirt road, surrounded by fertile farmland. The village’s rutted roads are bordered everywhere by lush, green vegetation invigorated by the recent rains. John Melau-Laizer grew up here studying his father’s planting techniques, the…
-
Tanzania: Radio Plants Seed in Farmers’ Minds
Sitting in traffic can be tedious. But 53-year-old businessman Loiruki Mollel uses the time to listen to the radio. He tunes in to Kilimo chetu [Our farming] on Radio Maria 89.1 FM as he manoeuvres his way through traffic in Dar es Salaam. Mr. Mollel had read a newspaper story about the health benefits of…
-
Tanzania’s Farming Cooperatives Struggle to Bear Fruit
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Apr 4 2014 (IPS) – John Daffi climbs to the top of a hill overlooking a scenic Rift Valley wall and the Ngorongoro forest, where wildlife migrates between the world famous Ngorongoro crater and Tanzania’s Lake Manyara. Daffi, 59, looks down upon his family’s farm below and reminisces about the time his father…
-
‘Fahari Yangu’: The Pride of Agricultural Radio in Tanzania
ARUSHA, Tanzania – A large, yellow, wind-up, solar radio crackles as farmer Esther Mbwana tunes it into her favourite radio station. “I love the Fahari Yangu farmer program. I listen every week,” she says as she spins the dial and stops on 105.7 FM, Arusha’s Radio 5. Mbwana is a 48-year-old mother of three from Poli village, located…