Date Posted: April 14th, 2008
Welcome to all readers!
Before we tell you about this week’s issue of Farm Radio Weekly, one explanation is required. As of today, the Developing Countries Farm Radio Network (DCFRN) has officially changed its name to Farm Radio International. So we’ll refer to the organization as Farm Radio International throughout this issue, and from now on. For more details on this change, please see the Farm Radio Action section (formerly known as the DCFRN Action section
Now, we would like to extend a special welcome to our friends in Malawi. A few weeks ago, Farm Radio International held a stakeholder forum in Lilongwe, in which many radio broadcasters participated (more information about this forum is included in the Farm Radio Action section). We are pleased to say that five participants from this forum – Hanke Marvin from Story Workshop, Calvin Kamchacha from Farmers Forum for Trade and Social Justice, Benson Nkhoma Somba from Galaxy Media, Patricia Kapulula from Malawi News Agency, and George Ntonya from G&A International – have become members of the FRW community. In this spirit, we are also pleased to offer you FRW’s first news story based in Malawi, about a women’s cooperative that learned some of the secrets to marketing success.
We also have two stories that offer new answers to an age-old question – how can farmers get the most out of their fields? We see that some Burundian farmers, frustrated by the rising cost of chemical fertilizer, are trying an organic alternative. In Uganda, the government is encouraging farmers to put their hand hoes aside and try a new technology called the walking tractor.
If you are enjoying your subscription to Farm Radio Weekly, we invite to you share it with your colleagues in radio broadcasting, or others who may be interested. A new feature on the FRW website allows you to e-mail articles at the click of a button. Check it out at: http://farmradio.org/english/weekly/. At the same time, why not show people how to get their own free subscription, simply by filling out this online form: http://farmradio.org/english/fr_weekly_subscribe.asp.
Happy reading!
-The Farm Radio Weekly Team
