Date Posted: October 6th, 2008
Hello to all!
This past week was a special one at Farm Radio International’s Ottawa office, as Mahamadou Diarra from the Réseau de communication Kayira in Mali paid us a visit. Mr. Diarra shared the inspiring story of how his radio network was founded and continues to work to give a voice to the Malian people and promote democracy in the country. To read more about Réseau de communication Kayira, please see the Farm Radio Action section below. Mr. Diarra became a new FRW subscriber, as have Mahamane Toure from Graine d’Espoir in Mali, Nzita Makuelo Dieudonné from Radio Télé Rurale MUINDA in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Abdoulatif from the farmer’s organization foen’ ny mangoro in Madagascar, Teresa Chirwa from Zodiak Radio in Malawi, and Charles H. Mumanikidzwa from The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe. We welcome all of our new subscribers!
In this week’s FRW, we look at the connections between African agriculture and some issues making international news. The global market has been rocked by the news that Chinese milk and milk products were contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, causing the death of four children and illness in more than 50,000 people in mainland China. Our FRW news story looks at how, as this international scare plays out, locally-produced milk is enjoying a boost in popularity in some African countries.
From September 30 to October 3, representatives from over 70 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries gathered in Accra, Ghana. Proposed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union were at the top of the agenda. By the end of the summit, the group had resolved to meet with European negotiators before the end of October to re-visit controversial clauses. Our story, adapted from an article in Ghana’s Public Agenda newspaper, visits Ghanaian farmers, who explain why they oppose the EPAs.
Would you like to be a correspondent for Farm Radio Weekly? FRW is looking for skilled radio journalists to report on agricultural issues in their areas. To be considered as a correspondent, please send a sample of agricultural reporting to Farm Radio Weekly Editor Heather Miller at: hmiller@farmradio.org. You can also suggest a story idea to Heather, or simply share your thoughts about the current edition.
Happy reading!
-The Farm Radio Weekly Team
