• 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: Wise Women Farmers Adapt to Changing Times

    On the slopes of Mount Meru, Grace Marko feeds her cows by placing grass and water directly into their trough. This method of zero grazing, in which she keeps her livestock in an enclosed, shaded area, means her cows remain healthy, produce an abundance of milk, and do not overgraze her pastures. There is an…


  • 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…


  • Tanzania: Young Farmers Fight Climate Change in Zanzibar

    In the small village of Kiombamvua, young Zanzibaris are turning to farming. Drought and sea water intrusion have taken their toll on the island’s farmland, and the young people are trying to combat the effects of climate change. Ali Abeid is a 26-year-old vegetable farmer. Over the last three years, he has grown spinach and…


  • Kenya: Successful Young Entrepreneurs Attracted to Farming by Social Media

    Daniel Kimani did not think much about farming when he was growing up. But he has become a national figure since he started fish farming. Mr. Kimani has been featured on Kenyan radio and television. The 29-year-old from Kenya’s Nyandurua County, about 150 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, graduated from university with a diploma in engineering.…


  • ‘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…


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