Farm Radio Script of the Week

This week’s featured story by Lilianne Nyatcha looks at how the rising cost of grains has put some Cameroonian farmers in the difficult position of having to sell their poultry at a loss. Other situations that cause food scarcity can put farmers in a similar situation – but there are steps farmers can take to protect their investment in livestock. This week’s script recommends stocking at least one week’s feed supply for livestock, and following other precautionary measures. You can view this script online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/64-3script_en.asp.

Notes to broadcaster

How do farmers in your community prepare their livestock for disasters? If nothing comes to mind, then there’s a good chance that your listeners need information on this topic. Even though many farmers depend on their livestock for food and security, livestock often get forgotten in times of emergency. Let farmers know that they should plan ahead to make sure their cattle, camels, donkeys, pigs and poultry are provided for in emergencies. Advise farmers to take the following precautions:

Make a checklist of all farm animals, and if possible, give them identification marks.
Store enough feed, water and medicines for each animal for a week. Store these supplies at least two feet above ground in dry, flood-resistant areas.
Make sure that livestock housing is sturdy and secure.
Prune tree branches next to livestock housing, so that no branches will fall and hurt the housing/livestock.
If floods are predicted, take livestock to higher ground.
We suggest that you use this program in the Farm Radio International series, “The adventures of Neddy the ParaVet”. See Farm Radio package 63, scripts 7 and 8 (”The value of indigenous veterinary practices” and “Fodder trees provide nutritious livestock feed all year”).

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Characters

Program Host
Neddy: Animal Health Worker. Young man, enthusiastic and energetic.
Uncle Chekwa: Farmer. Neddy’s uncle.

Host: Neddy, a local Animal Health Worker is making his rounds, several days after serious flooding affected the farm communities that he serves. One of the first farmers he meets in his travels, is his own uncle.

Neddy: Greetings, Uncle Chekwa!

Uncle Chekwa: Hi Neddy. You look well - I’m so glad! I’ve been worried about the family since the flooding. How is your mother?

Neddy: Mother and the rest of the family are well, thank you, Uncle. In our district, we were not badly affected by the flooding. But I see it is a different story here! All the animal health workers in the region, including myself, have been asked to visit farmers, to see if their livestock need any special care after the flood. Did your hens survive?

Uncle Chekwa: (pause) Neddy…um…I’m sorry to say… my hens are gone.

Neddy: They’re gone? Oh, Uncle… did they drown in the flood? Weren’t you able to save them?

Uncle Chekwa: (sadly) Well…actually…I had to sell them.

Neddy: You sold your chickens? At a time like this? When food is in such short supply?

Uncle Chekwa: I had no choice! We had very little grain stored, and we needed it ourselves, for our own food! I didn’t even have enough clean water for my hens! With no feed and water for the hens… I couldn’t watch them die. So, I sold them. But now we are suffering even more - without the fresh eggs. And our grain stores are gone too.

Neddy: Uncle Chekwa, I know that you depended on those eggs for your daily meals. But listen - next month I can bring you some new chicks. Also, I’ll bring you some maize - if you are still in need.

Uncle Chekwa: Do you mean that you have extra grain to spare?

Neddy: Because this flooding is happening regularly in the country now - every two or three years - I try to be prepared. I keep an extra portion of grain stored for my livestock. I keep enough feed and water to last them for one week. Of course I also keep extra stores for my family. So, yes, I have enough to spare.

Uncle Chekwa: From now on I will keep an extra supply of stored grain and water. But, where should I keep it?

Neddy: Keep it in a safe, dry place, above the ground. And remember, keep enough to last each animal for one week.

Host: Remember the value of your livestock. Prepare ahead to keep them safe and healthy in times of emergency. Here are some things to remember:

Make a checklist of all your animals.
Store extra livestock feed in a high and dry place. Keep enough to last a week.
Store enough water for livestock to last at least one week.
Check that animal housing is safe and secure.

- END -

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Acknowledgements
Contributed by: Jennifer Pittet, Thornbury, Ontario, Canada.
Reviewed by: Terry Wollen, DVM, Coordinator of Animal Health, Heifer International.

Information Source
“Communicating hurricane preparedness for agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the Caribbean,” by Maria Protz, in SD Dimensions, 1999, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

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This week’s script has a nice connection to both of this week’s special contributors – Sawa Pius and Gladson Makowa. The script was produced by Gladson’s organization, the Story Workshop in Malawi, and, much like Sawa’s news story on Ugandan farmers and beekeepers, it deals with agroforestry. The script is a drama which features five villagers, both men and women, who discuss the value of trees as a source of income, as a method of fallowing and crop protection, and as an important part of the natural environment. You can find this script online at: http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/76-7script_en.asp.

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Indigenous knowledge, also known as traditional knowledge or local knowledge, is the wisdom held and shared by the people in your community, and passed down from generation to generation. It can be knowledge about farming methods, medicine, technologies, the environment, the spiritual world, or anything else that is important to a particular community of people.

In our featured news story by Sawa Pius, we see how indigenous knowledge about pest management has helped Kenyan banana farmers to thrive and reduce their dependency on chemical pesticides. In this case, the traditional and effective techniques for warding off nematodes were generations old, but had fallen out of practice for some time.

Our featured script celebrates traditional knowledge, which one character describes as “those teachings and traditions that have helped our people live and survive.” Through a story about two sisters and their daughters, it reveals the importance of passing down traditional practices to the next generation.

You can find this script online at: http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/60-8script_en.asp.

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Micro-credit loans can play a strong role in improving livelihoods, as illustrated in this week’s news story by Sawa Pius. Micro-credit lending organizations are typically established to provide loans to people who cannot access credit from traditional banks. Like the Rwandan women who borrowed money to establish small banana-processing operations, micro-credit lending can often help people to start a small business.

In this week’s featured script, two women discuss different types of micro-credit loan systems and how they work. You can find this script online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/57-3script_en.asp. This script is part of a three-part series on women and credit. The other two scripts are “Women start a revolving loan fund” and “Women set up a purchasing and marketing cooperative”.

Characters

Narrator: Program host.
Sylvia: Woman farmer.
Joyce: Woman farmer, Sylvia’s friend.

Program host: Like many of the women in our audience, Sylvia farms a small plot of land and uses most of the food she grows to feed her family. Sylvia would like to sell vegetables at the local market to make a little extra money, but she doesn’t grow enough to feed her family and sell at the market.

Do you have the same problem? Would you like to earn an income by selling some of your produce at the market? Today’s program is about credit — or borrowing money — and how it can help you to make more money from your farm. Let’s join Sylvia and her friend, Joyce, as they discuss micro-credit programs for women.

MUSICAL BREAK.

Sylvia: I am a hard-working farmer, but I am not able to get ahead! When I am in the market, I notice that there is a lot of demand for vegetables, but I do not grow enough to sell at the market! If I had a water pump for my vegetable plot, I could grow more vegetables. But I will never save enough money to buy a water pump!

Joyce: I agree a water pump would be a good idea. It sounds like you could use some credit to help you improve your farm.

Sylvia: I don’t know very much about credit.

Joyce: Well, credit is money that you borrow from a bank or credit union. When you receive the money, you agree to pay it back over a certain period of time. You also pay an extra charge for using the money. The extra charge is called interest.

Sylvia: Oh, I tried to borrow money from the bank, but I was refused. It was difficult to fill out the application because I can’t read. Then the loan officer told me that I couldn’t borrow money because I don’t own any livestock or land, or anything of value that the bank could take if I wasn’t able to repay the money. I only wanted a small amount of money!

Joyce: Don’t give up. There are other ways that you can borrow money. Have you heard about micro-credit programs?

Sylvia: Is micro-credit different from borrowing money from the bank?

Joyce: Micro-credit programs lend small amounts of money with lower interest payments. They are to help women earn extra money. There are micro-credit programs for women all over the world. Some are organized by local banks. Others are organized by rural organizations. And there are many micro-credit programs started by women like us!

Sylvia: Lower interest payments would be very helpful! I borrowed from a money lender in the village who charged me twenty percent interest. It was very difficult to repay the money and the interest. But if I don’t have any livestock or title to my land, how can I borrow money?

Joyce: The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh is a successful credit program that uses group encouragement to make sure the money is repaid. Women form credit groups of five people. If one woman in the credit group does not pay back the money she borrowed, the other four will not be able to borrow money. This is called group liability.

Sylvia: That may work for them. But why would other women in my village want to join a credit group with me?

Joyce: Each woman in the credit group will take a turn borrowing money. Think about how much you would benefit if you were able to purchase a water pump. You would be able to repay the money by selling more vegetables in the market.

Sylvia: I know that I would encourage other women in my credit group to repay their loans so that everyone could improve their farms.

Sylvia: (Sylvia’s excitement suddenly turns to worry) But I have no experience handling credit! What if I cannot repay the money?

Joyce: Women everywhere have faced difficulties, but they have shown they can manage. Don’t be afraid to try.

You should first discuss the idea of borrowing money with your husband and your family. Explain to them that it would help you raise the family income. If you have their support, it will be much easier to succeed.

But before you borrow the money, do some careful planning. Decide how you will spend the money and how you will repay it. Decide how much money you will spend to get your vegetable stall going. You will have to set a price for your vegetables that will earn enough money to repay the loan.

Don’t borrow too much money. It may take you several weeks before you are able to repay it.

Sylvia: Well, perhaps with a good plan and support from other women, I can succeed. I would like to find out more information about micro-credit programs in our area. Can you help?

Joyce: Let’s ask our friends and neighbours in the village and then go to the health clinic or the school for more information.

Sylvia: Perhaps we can start our own women’s bank with our neighbours!

- END -

Acknowledgements
Contributed by: Noelle Grosse, Researcher/Writer, Canada.

Information Sources
-“Gender and microfinance: guidelines for good governance,” Susan Johnson, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath, UK, BA2 7AY.
-“The Grameen Bank and Women in Bangladesh,” Abu Wahid, Challenge, Sept/Oct. 1999, pp. 94-101.
-MicroStart — A Guide for Planning, Starting and Managing a Microfinance Programme (Version 1.0), United Nations Development Programme, 1997.
-The Virtual Library on Microcredit

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This week, we devote this section to the award-winning Farm Radio scripts that were produced as audio recordings and distributed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for World Food Day. As mentioned above, the scripts are: “Manure the magic worker,” written by Gladson Makowa of the Story Workshop in Malawi, and “Organic fertilizer within easy reach,” written by Adama Zongo of Radio Rurale in Burkina Faso. You can listen to the audio recordings by clicking on the links above, and read the full text of the scripts below. Although “Manure the magic worker” is recorded in English only and “Organic fertilizer within easy reach” is recorded in French only, the text versions of both scripts are available in both languages. Follow along. You may get some great ideas on transforming scripts into entertaining audio productions!

Manure the magic worker
Notes to Broadcaster
Floods and drought are becoming the order of the day. These are significant signs of climate change. Farmers are finding it difficult to choose good varieties of crops to suit these climatic changes. This script gives a general solution for adapting to climatic changes. Manure works for both early-maturing and late-maturing crops. It retains water in the soil when there is drought and removes excess water when there is too much water in the soil, since it makes soil permeable. This script, therefore, can be used in any country and for every crop to reduce the effect of climatic change.

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Signature tune

Presenter: Welcome, dear listeners, to Farmers Parade. In this program, we document some of the marvellous discoveries and achievements of smallholder farmers in Africa. Today as usual, you are with me, Gladson Makowa, your presenter.

Signature tune up and out under presenter

Presenter: Do you know that farmers are good researchers? Imagine how useful it can be to you to discover a thing on your own, on your farm. Why don’t you start researching one of the issues you hear on the radio?

Pause. Signature tune up, then fade up under presenter.

Presenter: The Story Workshop, a non governmental media organization in Malawi, in its European Union-funded Project from 2002 to 2006, worked in six villages which were called Radio Research Gardens. Each village chose one research issue to verify what they heard on the radio in the program called Mwana Alirenji (self-sufficiency). This research was broadcast once every month. Today we will hear some of the findings from one of these Radio Research Gardens. Stay tuned to hear all about the magic of manure!

Traditional music recorded in villages

Presenter: For rains to stop when crops like maize still need rain is not a rare scenario these days. Msanjama village, one of the Radio Research Gardens, discovered some wonderful magic to solve this dry spell problem. Msanjama village is located on the western side of Mulanje district in Traditional Authority Juma. Like many villages in Malawi, many villagers are poor. Very few farmers can afford a bag of expensive inorganic fertilizer. To make matters worse, Msanjama lies in the rain shadow of Mulanje Mountain. This is the highest mountain in Malawi and the third highest in Africa. Often, the rains stop early, just when the maize is developing cobs but not yet mature. As if that was not enough, their soils are sandy and lose moisture quickly. But a light appeared at the end of the tunnel when the villagers heard on the radio about a magic substance called manure. A fellow farmer was giving a testimony on how much he yields using only manure. The villagers did not hesitate to start their research comparing manure to inorganic fertilizer. But in the first year of research, manure could not beat fertilizer in yield. It was a flop. (Pause) What went wrong? Do you think manure can beat inorganic fertilizer in the way it helps crops?

Traditional music recorded in villages

FX: Village ambience (sound of goats and chickens in distance)

Village headman: (Angrily, while another man is saying “yes” in the background) Mr. Chairman… it is clear that manure is a useless burden to us farmers. Give me back the plot I rented you to conduct research. I want to use it for other purposes.

Chairman: Wait, wait chief…

Headman: Wait! Wait! Wait for what? Isn’t the difficulty we have gone through enough, Mr. Chairman? Mrs. Jumbe, you wanted to comment. What do you want to say?

Mrs. Jumbe: Yes, chief, that was…

Chairman: (Interrupts her) People, please give me the benefit of the doubt. Let us try manure once more. We need solutions that can help us cope with the changing climate, which dries our crops and hurts our soil! (Protests) Mr. Jumbe, why are you supporting the village headman’s idea of stopping the research? Aren’t you the one who brought this idea?

Mr. Jumbe: Yes, I am the one. I was blinded by the sweet talk of that farmer on the radio.

Mrs. Jumbe: (Calmly and sarcastically) Ehee, manure is very deceiving. At first, we had a very healthy crop, but later it lost energy. But remember how inorganic fertilizer did. After we used the second application, it was just fine until we harvested.

Headman: Mrs. Jumbe, you are right. At first, manure was indeed deceptive, as if it would work. But unfortunately, it gave up on the way.

Chairman: Listen to me first. We applied fertilizer twice, right?

All: Yes.

Chairman: Why can’t we also apply manure twice to level the playing field?

Total silence from the group

Mr. Jumbe: What have you just said, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. Chairman: (Calm and emphatic. People are now interested in what he is saying.) Remember we applied fertilizer twice for maize to do well. Can’t we try to apply manure twice too?

Mrs. Jumbe: I think Mr. Chairman has a good idea. There was indeed a very good crop with manure before it started losing energy. Why can’t we try applying manure twice, the same way we applied fertilizer?

People: (Many agree) Yes, let’s try it twice.

Headman: Well, if it’s everyone’s idea to try once more, then I will leave the garden to the group for this season again.

All: (Some laugh, some clap hands, and some comment) That is our courageous chair…. Make sure it will not fail this time.

Traditional music recorded in villages

Presenter: The villagers agreed to apply manure twice during the next growing season. They made enough composted manure for two applications, like the fertilizer. They divided their land into two plots – the fertilizer side and the manure side. They applied manure and fertilizer for the second time on the same day. People could hardly tell which side had manure and which one had fertilizer.

Then the unthinkable happened. When the maize had just produced tassels and was developing cobs, the rains stopped. The fertilizer side started showing moisture deficiency. It withered and then died. What happened to the manure side? Stay tuned.

Traditional music recorded in villages

FX: Sound of shelled maize being winnowed and put in a pail

Chairman: (Loudly) Come closer everyone. Let’s compare manure and inorganic fertilizer at the end of a fair competition.

FX: Sound of shelled maize under sounds of people admiring one type of maize as compared to the other. Some blame the rains.

Chairman: Let’s count these pails of shelled maize from the area on which we applied fertilizer. Mrs. Jumbe, can you lead us?

All: (FX of maize pouring into pails) One…two…three …four …five.

Mrs. Jumbe: Now let’s count from the area on which we applied manure. One…All: (FX of maize pouring into pails) … two…three…four…five … six … seven … eight. (All laugh and chant) Manure! Manure! (And sing) You have shaken buffalo beans; it is going to irritate you. (Editor’s note: This is a Malawian song about a variety of buffalo beans which irritates people’s skin. It’s a very well known song in Malawi. Please replace with any traditional song which is sung when your football team which was being rated as an underdog has won the match.)

Chairman: (Tries to silence them) Quiet! Quiet!

Mrs. Jumbe: Mr. Jumbe, my husband, look how fat and good looking the maize grains from the manure side are.

All: Laugh and make noise again

Mr. Jumbe: (Shouting at the top of his voice) You are lucky that the rains stopped before the maize had matured. There would have been no difference in harvest between the two sides.

All: (Laugh and shout) Haa, you!

Chairman: (Shouts too) The rains did not stop on the fertilizer side only. It stopped on the manure side too. Isn’t it true?

All people: Yes! (Chant again) Manure! Manure!

Chairman: It means that, although you called manure a burden, it makes better quality soil.

All: (Murmur)

Chairman: Wait, does the village headman have anything to say?

FX: As the chief comes, the people clap hands to honour him.

Headman: (They chant “yes” in the background, agreeing with what he says) I do not have much to say…. Everyone has seen that, as well as improving yield, manure retains moisture too. Do you remember how we applied manure? The first application we just spread in between the ridges before ridging? A gallon-sized pail full of manure spread along the fallow in between the ridges. Then the second application two hands full at the base of the plants and covered with soil after the second weeding. Go do it in your gardens. Chase hunger out of my village!

All: Yeaaaaaa!

Music

Presenter: Manure adds fertility to the soil and keeps moisture. If you have dry spells, manure keeps the crop strong. Beat the side effects of climatic changes by using manure. Remember the side that had manure did not wilt in the same way the other side did. Do not forget that you need to compost the animal manure by mixing it with grass residues. Well-decomposed composted manure does not burn the crops, but releases all the necessary nutrients to our crops and keeps moisture in the soil. Try it. Farmers need to be clever and determined. Remember our friends failed to achieve what they wanted in the first year. They did not give up, but thought of modifying the method. They decided to apply manure twice. Don’t give up.

The facts to remember are that some kinds of manure have more nutrients than others. Composted manure made from a mixture of nitrogen-fixing plants, legumes such as cowpeas, or bean leaves, groundnut leaves, leaves and animal dung is richer in nutrients. Chicken, pig and rabbit dung have higher nitrogen content than dung from cattle and goats. Do not store manure too long uncovered and exposed to rain and sun – like more than two months – before using it, because manure loses some nutrients as time goes by. For more information, ask any agricultural worker or your fellow farmer who uses manure to teach you.

Signature tune

Presenter: We have come to the end of today’s program, Farmers Parade. Until next week at 6:30 pm on Tuesday on your lovely radio station MBC, I Gladson Makowa say … endurance pays! Try manure! Beat climate change.

Signature tune up and out

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Acknowledgements
Contributed by: Gladson Makowa, Story Workshop, Blantyre, Malawi.
Reviewed by: John FitzSimons, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Canada.

Organic fertilizer within easy reach

Notes to Broadcaster
Tinga is a farmer who has just been trained in the construction of a compost ditch. Bila, his cousin who likes to joke around, comes to pay him a visit while he is digging the ditch with a few members of his family. The two farmers from the village of Godin, where soil fertility has become a real concern for the inhabitants, start up a dialogue.

The phenomenon of desertification has been exacerbated by drought during the past three decades. In Sahelian countries, land is considerably degraded and rainfall has decreased. Heat and evaporation are increasingly strong. Indeed, crop yields have noticeably decreased, year after year. Today, to cope with this situation, farmers have developed new techniques. The compost ditch is one of those methods that can help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.

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Words and the noise of picks and shovels

Bila: Good morning! (Joking) Don’t tell me you’re digging your grandfather’s grave? When did he leave you?

Tinga: (Joking as well) It’s really for your grandmother who’s a real old fogey. This “grave” as you call it, is going to let me nourish my land and have good harvests. Today, an offering of some chicken and dolo beer (Editor’s note: millet beer) isn’t enough for our ancestors to answer our prayers.

Bila: This looks like a crazy idea. You haven’t even finished feeding your children and you’re busy worrying about the land. Can you tell me how you intend to nourish it?

Tinga: Which one of the two of us is crazy? Our land is worn out after years of production. It has become poor. The crops are getting smaller from year to year. Access to farm inputs is more and more difficult. It rains less and less. Can’t you see what I see? The land is hungry and thirsty and can’t satisfy our needs. It is grateful to us when it is well-nourished. The land needs as much food as we can give it. Do you understand that? The compost can help the soil to better retain water and help crops to resist the droughts that are increasingly frequent.

Bila: Yes, I understand that, but I still want an answer to my question.

Noise of picks and shovels in the background

Tinga: What you think is a grave is actually a compost ditch that I am in the process of building. This ditch is going to provide me with organic fertilizer for the crops in my fields.

Bila: Tinga, I’ve always blamed you for your selfishness. If I hadn’t come by just now, I wouldn’t know anything about this ditch. Why don’t you like to share what you know with others?

Tinga: Come on, be serious. I’m talking to you about it now. And I’m very happy to be doing just that. So, to answer your question, I’m going to repeat the instructions we got from the agricultural technician who trained us. There were 25 farmers who received this training, and we are supposed to share what we learned in our villages. I am going to get everyone in the village together in the next little while and teach the technique to those who want to learn it.

Bila: Go straight to the point. Until now, you have not told me what I expect to hear.

Tinga: So, to get back to your question. To get nutrients for the soil, you dig a hole like the one you see. It has to be three metres long by three metres wide. It should be no more than one and a half metres deep. In other words, the length and width of the ditch is equal to at least three times the length of a long arm and the depth is about one and a half times the length of an arm.

You put millet stems in the hole to form the first layer. Then you add ash, household waste, and animal dung, and water. You repeat the same process until you fill the ditch. The compost must remain moist but not wet. Don’t put material such as plastic that won’t decompose into the ditch. Keep children away from the ditch to keep them safe.

Bila: What does this garbage provide for the earth?

Tinga: This garbage is going to create food for the earth. The millet stems, the household garbage, the animal dung and ash are going to decompose to become nutrients for the soil. This waste material becomes what we call organic compost, and is going to make the soil easy to till. It will allow the soil to recapture the fertility it has lost and to hold lots of water. This way we are going to nourish the earth.

Bila: So what do I get for doing all this work?

Tinga: That’s a foolish question.

Bila: You don’t have to insult me!

Tinga: (Laughter) How can you ask me what you can expect from all this work after the speech I just made? Prick up your ears and listen to me. You will have organic fertilizer in large quantities – 10 tons of it when the ditch is full – and within easy reach. Your farmlands will be more fertile, plants will flourish, and your field will provide you with large ears of maize and good seeds. You will have products with good taste and quality. Your yields will be improved. The organic fertilizer is going to considerably reduce your dependence on chemical fertilizers. It will save you money that can be used for something else. The compost ditch provides us with priceless advantages. Do you understand that?

Bila: I would surely be a fool if I said no. In my opinion, it’s a technique which can save us from a situation that is becoming more and more worrisome: the depletion of our soils. And it isn’t complicated. Tell me, when will you start the training sessions in the village? I’ll be one of the first to sign up.

Tinga: I know you will. May God watch over us!

Bila: Now that you have explained everything to me, you can get back to digging your grave. I’m on my way.

Tinga: Say hello to your grandmother, the old bag. Have a good day.

Bicycle horn

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Acknowledgements
Contributed by: Adama G. Zongo, Head of Editorial Services, Head Office, Radio Rurale du Burkina.
Reviewed by: John FitzSimons, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Canada.
Proofreading: Alexis Télesphore Bagre, retired journalist.
Information sources
Toula Dialla, Head of the 50,000 compost ditches project (Ministère de l’agriculture, de l’hydraulique et des ressources halieutiques, Burkina Faso)
Serge Alfred Sedogo, Executive Secretary of the MARP/BURKINA Network
Bobodo Blaise Sawadogo, Communication on national policies with regard to climate change, January 30, 2008, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

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This week’s featured script was produced as part of a collaboration between Farm Radio International and the Africa Rice Center (WARDA). Our most recent script package consists of five Farm Radio-WARDA scripts on rice production and seed management, and is posted online, here: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/. In this script, two women rice farmers discuss methods of ensuring that rice seed remains in good condition while in storage. They describe traditional and innovative methods, such as using cooking oil to seal the pores of earthenware pots, removing oxygen from the top of the storage container with a lit candle, and adding insect-repellent leaves to keep away pests.

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This week, we feature one of five scripts on rice production and seed management recently produced as part of a collaboration between Farm Radio and the Africa Rice Center (WARDA). In this script, the host interviews Chabi Adéyèmi, a research assistant at WARDA in Cotonou, Benin. Mr. Adéyèmi provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the floatation method to remove rice seeds that are unripe or have been damaged by insects. He also provides advice on sorting out grains with brown or black spots because, as our host explains, “healthy seed means good harvest.” The five new rice scripts have been mailed to Farm Radio partners as Package 85, and are available online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/.

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Notes to Broadcaster

For a good rice harvest, healthy seed is essential. Unripe grains or grains that have been damaged by insects are lighter in weight than healthy grains so they can be removed if you float them in water before sowing. Grains with black or brown spots are also unhealthy but these grains are not necessarily lighter so they can’t be removed by the floating method. In this case, farmers conduct manual sorting. This can be done immediately after harvest, before the seed is stored, or any time before the beginning of next season. Both methods help to improve the quality of seed.

In the following radio interview Mr. Chabi Adéyèmi, a research assistant at the Africa Rice Center in Cotonou, Benin, provides listeners with step-by-step instructions about how to carry out floatation and manual sorting techniques.

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Host: Dear friends, good morning and welcome to your radio program about agriculture. Today’s program will be devoted to rice floating and sorting techniques.

In the studio we have Mr. Chabi Adéyèmi who is a research assistant at the Africa Rice Center in Benin. He’s here to talk about two valuable techniques that will help you improve the quality of your rice seed.

Mr. Chabi, sometimes, at planting time, farmers notice that their rice seed is damaged by insects, or that it’s not ripe. How can farmers improve the quality of their seed so they get a better harvest?

Chabi: Well, to start, farmers can draw inspiration from practices used by farmers in Bangladesh to get better seed. One of these methods is called seed floatation.

Host: Can you describe it for our listeners?

Chabi: Of course. That’s why I’m here today!

Host: We are listening to you then.

Chabi: Okay, I’ll get started. After winnowing, you’ll see that partially filled grains and grains with holes are still mixed with the full, healthy grains. What you want to do is to separate out these bad grains by floating them in water.

Host: That’s why this technique is called floatation!

Chabi: Exactly. To use this method you have to follow a number of steps. First, you pour clean water into a container. I like to use a bucket. Then you add salt or urea to that water to change the specific density of the water.

Host: How do you know when to stop adding the salt or urea?

Chabi: Keep on adding salt, or urea, or even clay, until a freshly laid egg can float on the surface of the water. It was Bangladeshi women who made the discovery that when an egg could float to the surface of the water, the density of the water was just right for the seed floatation method. Next, add your grains to the water and mix everything by hand. After a while all the damaged and light grains will float to the surface of the water.

Host: What about the healthy grains?

Chabi: The healthy grains settle at the bottom of the container. Floatation is a practice that helps to separate good quality grains from bad quality grains. Don’t forget to mix salt, urea or clay with the water for a better effect. This brings up more of the unripe and light seeds to the surface.

Host: Very good. Let me quickly summarize the technique for our listeners.

The first thing you need is a clean container. It may be a basin, bucket or even a drum, isn’t it?

Chabi: Of course. The container you select depends on how much seed you have.

Host: Once you have the container, you pour water into it. Then you mix this water with enough salt or urea until a freshly laid egg can float on the surface of the water.

Chabi: Yes.

Host: After that you pour the seed into the water and stir it well. After a while all the light and insect-attacked grains will float on the surface of the water. The healthy grains however, settle in the bottom of the container. Then, after all this, what is the next stage?

Chabi: Then you have to remove the damaged and partially filled grains that are now floating on the surface of the water. You can give them to the fowls.

Host: What about the healthy grains that settled in the bottom of the water?

Chabi: You remove them from the bottom of the container and you clean them twice, or three times in clean water. After that you can sow them.

Host: I’ve noticed that sometimes there are seed grains that have black or brown spots on them. Will floating help remove those grains?

Chabi: No, those grains are not necessarily lighter in weight, so they won’t float. In that case you have to do manual seed sorting.

Host: Manual sorting?

Chabi: Yes.

Host: Doesn’t that take a lot of time?

Chabi: Yes, it can, especially if you have a large quantity of seeds. But if the whole family helps, it goes quickly, and you don’t need to do it all in one day. You can do it gradually, in between two growing seasons.

Host: Thank you, Mr. Chabi for your time today…for explaining the seed floatation and seed sorting techniques to us.

Chabi: You’re welcome. It’s been a pleasure.

Host: Dear rice farmer friend, don’t forget that healthy seed means good harvest. If you would like a copy of the video programs on rice seed cleaning, drying and conservation, you can contact [radio broadcaster should give name of local contact person or organization distributing rice videos].

-END-

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Note: Radio broadcasters can click on this link to see a list of rice video distribution sites or see the list that is included with this script package.

Acknowledgements
Contributed by: Felix S. Houinsou, Rural Radio Consultant/Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
Reviewed by: Paul Van Mele, Program Leader, Learning and Innovation Systems/Africa Rice Center (WARDA)

Thanks to:
-The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for supporting participatory research with women rice farmers in lowlands, and for translating the rice videos into local languages.
-The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and IFAD for supporting this script package.

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This week’s featured script is an additional resource on the topic of fertilizer micro-dosing. It features an interview between a radio host and Ousmane Hassane, from the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Niger. Mr. Hassane explains that, in Niger, farmer field schools were established to demonstrate the superior growth of crops treated with micro-dosing versus traditional practices. He also describes how word of micro-dosing quickly spread throughout villages, as farmers showed each other how to use the technique.

You can also view this script online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/79-4script_en.asp.

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Notes to Broadcaster
Desertification is a major problem facing many African countries. Land degradation due to desertification results in poor yields and grazing capacity, loss of farmland and rangeland, reduction or disappearance of forests, and serious economic difficulties for producers, herders, and the general population.

The Desert Margins Program (DMP) is a collaboration among nine African countries: Burkina Faso, Botswana, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, assisted by five International Agricultural Research Centers and three Advanced Research Institutes. Its objectives are: 1) To understand land degradation; 2) To assess dryland management practices; 3) To improve natural resource management; 4) To design policies, programs and institutional options; 5) To formulate drought management strategies; 6) To enhance institutional capacities; and 7) To exchange technologies and information. The key goal is to enhance the food security of poor rural populations and alleviate poverty by halting or reversing desertification. The 120 million inhabitants of these nine countries depend mainly on rainfed agriculture and natural rangelands for their survival. But their livelihoods are at risk due to land degradation. The problem of biodiversity loss is particularly critical in very dry areas where ecosystems are less likely to recover once they are seriously damaged. This script focuses on a DMP project which uses ‘micro-doses’ of fertilizer to increase crop yields in the Sahel region.

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