Issue #10

Greetings from the FRW Team!

We hope that you have all enjoyed a good week. We know that it was an exciting week for football fans, with the Africa Cup of Nations finals. In fact, it almost seems like we can still hear the Cameroonian fans crying after such a nail-biting game against the Egyptians…all the way in Canada!

We are pleased to bring you another issue of agriculture and food security news. This week, we continue our series on conflict and food, with a story about how ex-combatants from a number of recently-resolved conflicts are learning to farm. We also have an important bulletin for you from Mali, where a dangerous toxin was found in the cooking oil that most families use. Finally, we hope to uplift you with the story of a South African entrepreneur who created more than 200 jobs in his rural area by modernizing the production of a traditional beverage.

We would like to thank all those who provided us with feedback in the past week, through e-mail and through our partner survey. It’s important for us to hear which stories interest you and your listeners most! Please remember that if there is an agriculture or food security story in your area that you want to share, you can always do so by posting to the FRW website: http://farmradio.org/english/weekly/. You can also send story ideas to FRW Editor Heather Miller hmiller@farmradio.org.
Happy reading!

-The Farm Radio Weekly Team

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African Farm News in Review
1. Africa: Reintegration of ex-combatants through agriculture (Various Sources)

2. Mali: Cooking oil used by most Malians found to be toxic (United Nations’ Integrated Regional Information Networks)

3. South Africa: Ancient brew has Eastern Cape buzzing with employment opportunities (Various Sources)

Upcoming Events

-February 29, 2008: Deadline for submitting a proposal to OURMedia 7

Radio Resource Bank

-Creating participatory radio drama with children

DCFRN Action

-Farm Radio Weekly needs your input to mark International Women’s Day!

DCFRN Script of the Week

-Keeping Food Safe

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As more and more peace agreements are being signed, a growing number of former fighters” are participating in programs known as DDR – disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. Many of these ex-combatants are turning towards agriculture on their path back to civil life.

Dieubéni, now 34 years old, fought in Central Africa. Now he is the chairman of the l’Association de Développement Agro Pastoral at Boyrabe in the Central African Republic. He chose to re-establish his life as a pig farmer. To increase his chances of success, he formed a livestock cooperative with 20 other ex-combatants. By working together, they save money on veterinary expenses and get a better price for their meat.

According to the Journal on African Conflict Resolution, former combatants who seek employment in agriculture perform better than those who train in other fields because agriculture ensures survival even when opportunities in the labour market are lacking.

Abel Da Silva is the director of production and modernization for the Ministry of Defense in Guinea-Bissau. Mr. Da Silva recently announced a government program that will see 3,000 ex-combatants trained in land cultivation and animal husbandry. The majority of the former soldiers will produce rice and sugarcane on three farms in eastern Guinea-Bissau.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo also offers agricultural programs to reintegrate former soldiers. Ex-combatants in remote villages of the Bunia region of northeastern DRC learned farming techniques during a four-month course held in 2007. As part of the program, each received farming implements, a wheelbarrow, and a watering can. With these tools, they will be able to work the land and feed their families.

However, reintegration through farming is not always the most popular choice. A case study conducted in Sierra Leone found that only 15 per cent of former combatants chose the agricultural reintegration program. Young ex-soldiers showed the least interest in agriculture and rural life. Those ex-combatants with agricultural experience were the most likely to take up farming.

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The cooking oil used by most Malians has been found to contain a toxic substance that can cause serious health problems in both men and women.

Most of the cooking oil used in Mali is derived from cotton plants. These plants naturally produce a chemical called gossypol that protects against insect damage. In order for cottonseed oil to be safe for human consumption, the gossypol must be removed during the refining process.

However, a recent government survey concluded that most oil producers do not have the equipment needed to remove gossypol. As a result, more than 100 cottonseed oil factories have been ordered to close.

Doctors in Mali explain that gossypol can cause numerous health problems. These include permanent sterility in men and irregular menstruation and miscarriages in women. Gossypol has also been linked to heart failure and cancer.

Local cottonseed producers are the primary source of oil for most Malians. Seydou Samaké lives in the capital city of Bamako. Like most people, he frequently cooked with cottonseed oil that he now knows is toxic. He is angry that the government did not do enough to regulate cooking oil refineries and protect public health.

Consumers’ action groups are now calling on the government to do more to ensure the safety of cottonseed oil. They say oil products should be labeled so that consumers know their origin. They also want the government to enact a public education campaign to inform people of the risks of unrefined cottonseed oil.

Meanwhile, many small-scale oil producers say they cannot afford the refining equipment that removes gossypol. Seydou Traoré is an oil producer in Fana, a major cotton-producing region. He says that he will sell his factory because he cannot afford to meet the safety requirements.

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Garth Cambray stares attentively into the tiny window of a two-storey stainless steel processor. The device is his own creation – a machine that produces mead, or honey wine, on a large scale. He is looking for any imperfections in the process.Inside his invention, an ancient recipe is brewing. A mixture of honey and water slowly seeps through local herbs and spices. The process infuses flavour and creates alcohol. At the bottom of the processor, as many as 300 bottles of golden liquid flow through each day.

Dr. Cambray is the co-founder of Makana Meadery in Grahamstown, South Africa. His large-scale mead fermentor is a patented technology. His company’s brew has put Grahamstown on the global mead map. It has also created employment for hundreds of people in the Eastern Cape province.

Dr. Cambray developed an interest in bees as a doctoral student at Rhodes University. It was during this time that he was introduced to the local variety of mead, called iQhilika, which has been brewed by the Xhosa people for centuries.

His mission became to invent a machine that could recreate the ancient iQhilika brewing process – only faster. The experiment was a success, and soon after Dr. Cambray graduated, Makana Meadery was born.

By bringing the iQhilika brew into the 21st century, Dr. Cambray opened it up to the outside world. Makana Meadery now sends three large shipments a year to the United States. And its herbal mead, derived from the traditional Xhosa recipe, has twice won top honours at the International Mead Festival.

With the meadery’s success has come a large demand for honey. And this is perhaps the greatest benefit to the Eastern Cape’s economy.

Makana Meadery has trained more than 200 people in beekeeping. It offers two courses – one to help entrepreneurs get started in small-scale production, and another to help them expand their operations.

Dr. Cambray has also developed techniques to reduce the cost of beekeeping. A honey extractor is usually the most expensive piece of equipment a beekeeper must buy. But Dr. Cambray has created a low-cost version from a bicycle wheel. The meadery even began producing low-cost beehives and frames out of local pine.

Makana Meadery continues to grow, developing products such as chili mead, which uses local hot peppers, and honey jams created with local fruits. And with more export markets opening up, the honey business in Eastern Cape should remain a beehive of activity.

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The history of reintegration programs has shown that agriculture can play an important role in helping former soldiers return to civilian life, but that ex-combatants must be provided with sufficient training and agricultural tools.

You may consider inviting former soldiers from your area to tell their stories of putting down their weapons to pick up farm tools. You could ask questions such as:
-What sort of work did you do prior to the conflict?
-What were your experiences during the conflict?
-What made you decide (or what conditions allowed you) to put down your arms?
-Why did you choose to begin farming after the conflict? Were you assisted by any formal reintegration programs?
-How has agricultural work helped you re-enter civilian life?

If there is an active or recently resolved conflict in your area, you may also wish to find out whether agencies such as the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization are supporting former combatants with seeds or other farm supplies.

As International Women’s Day is fast approaching, you may want to look specifically at female ex-combatants in your area, and the role that agriculture may have played in their reintegration into society. According to Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, “women combatants are often invisible. Their needs go unnoticed by most of the world’s disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) operations.”

The magazine African Renewal writes: “From the start, some women are victims of abduction. Others admit to willingly participating in combat for the same reasons as their male comrades in arms. Some are active in combat, but more often, they are nurses, cooks, sex workers, messengers, spies, or work in administration or logistics.”
Click here for the full article from African Renewal: http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol19no3/193combatant.html

Finally, you may wish to look back on the DCFRN Script Women face many challenges after conflict, from Package 67, in June 2003, which focused on conflict and agriculture.

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If your radio organization is based in Mali, you may already have heard about the government’s recent discovery that most locally produced cottonseed oil is contaminated with gossypol. The presence of gossypol in cottonseed and the need to remove gossypol during oil production is well known.

But according to the United Nations’ Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), when the Malian government studied 57 oil producers in November 2007, it found that only two had the necessary equipment to remove gossypol from cottonseed oil. On January 15, the government closed down 104 oil factories that lacked this equipment.

This news is particularly worrisome because locally produced cottonseed oil is a staple in most Malian households. Our research found that cottonseed oil is also the main source of fat and oil in several other West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Togo. If your radio organization broadcasts to Mali, or another country where cottonseed oil is consumed, you may wish to investigate questions such as:
-What mechanisms does the government use to regulate cottonseed oil production and ensure the safety of oil on the market?
-Are their consumer advocacy groups in your country; if so, what is their view on the safety of cottonseed oil?
-What locally-produced alternatives to cottonseed oil are available to consumers?

If you find additional information about cottonseed oil safety in your area, please share it with the FRW community by posting a comment on the FRW website, http://farmradio.org/english/weekly/. We are also seeking out additional information on this topic, and will share it as it becomes available.

You may also be interested in the following web resources on cottonseed oil:
-IRIN’s full news story on gossypol contamination in cooking oil:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76613-A brief from North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences on the risks associated with feeding cottonseed to livestock:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/news/junjul95/jj955art.html
-A description of how various parts of the cotton plant are used:
http://r0.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/cotton/uses.htm#graines

Finally, please see this week’s Script of the Week for information on safe food handling practices that can prevent food contamination and food-related illnesses.

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In many parts of Africa, beekeeping is described as a viable small business option for rural residents. The low cost of entering into beekeeping makes it desirable for the entrepreneur. And it is an environmentally-sound option, because it makes use of the natural environment without depleting resources. The Makana Meadery has risen to fame in South Africa, not only for the quality of its mead, but also for its active creation of beekeeping jobs.

You may wish to seek out a similar success story to report in your broadcast area:
-Which foods or beverages are unique specialties of your area? Are there rural entrepreneurs who produce and sell them?
-Who are some of the most successful entrepreneurs in your area? Are they creating jobs for other rural residents?
-Is beekeeping a traditional activity in your area? Are there people who have taken up beekeeping in the past few years?

DCFRN has produced several scripts on the topics of entrepreneurship and beekeeping. We have highlighted two of the more recent scripts below, but please remember that you can always search DCFRN’s online archive of scripts for any topic that interests you: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/
-“Earning Extra Income for the Family – One Woman’s Success Story,” from Package 68, Script 5, September 2003
-“Improved Honey Production and Processing in Dryland Kenya,” from Package 79, Script 1, November 2006

Finally, here are some fun facts about mead that we thought you might enjoy:
-Mead is believed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage known to humankind. Prior to the industrial revolution in Europe, it was much more popular than grape wine.
-Some people believe that the term “honeymoon” derives from the European tradition of giving newlyweds enough mead to drink each night for the first month of marriage. This was supposed to promote happiness and fertility.
-Traditional recipes and methods for preparing mead vary from country to country in Africa. The South African iQhilika mead and an Ethiopian mead known as taj are two of the most well known varieties.

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We announced in an earlier issue of Farm Radio Weekly that the OURMedia conference, community radio forum, and festival will be held in Accra, Ghana, this year, from August 11-15. OURMedia describes itself as a global network with the goal of facilitating long-term dialogue between academics, activists, practitioners, and policy experts around citizens’ media initiatives. The theme of OURMedia7 is Identity, Inclusion, Innovation – Alternative Communication in a Globalized World. Organizers say that the OURMedia 7 event will explore the relationship between the dimensions of alternative communication and dominant patterns of communications, and is expected to offer new perspectives and highlight effective experiences on communication in relation to development, education, human rights, peace building, and conflict resolution.

The Call for Proposals and proposal submission form for OURMedia 7 is now available in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Presentations to the conference, forum, and festival may be made in a variety of forms, including creative writing, performance, research or theoretical paper, and symbolic, visual, or other media such as cartoons and street art. The deadline for submitting a proposal for a presentation to OurMedia7 is February 29, 2008. For more information, including the proposal documents, visit: http://www.ourmedianetwork.org/?q=node/66.

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Community Media for Development has published a guide to help young facilitators and producers work with children to create dramas based on children’s issues. The colourful guide describes exercises for all stages of the production process – from thinking about what makes a good story and interesting “sound pictures,” to developing a story line and characters, through creating an indoor studio and voicing the script. The guide can be found online here: http://www.cmfd.org/cmfdpubs/CMFDChildrensGuidetoParticipatoryRadioforFacilitatorsLowRes.pdf.

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In celebration of International Women’s Day, Farm Radio Weekly will devote Issue 13 to Africa’s small-scale women farmers. We plan to include a series of stories that will highlight some of the challenges facing women farmers, as well as some of the innovations that are improving their lives. We need your assistance in making this special issue a success! Please post a comment on Farm Radio Weekly’s website (http://farmradio.org/english/weekly/), or e-mail us at farmradioweekly@farmradio.org with any of the following:
-descriptions of issues faced by women farmers in your area
-examples of agricultural innovations created by women in your area
-examples of women farmers’ groups and/or women’s advocacy groups in your area, their work and their successes
-descriptions of how your radio organization has worked to raise the profile of women farmers and their issues
We look forward to your participation!

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After learning the news about contaminated cooking oil in Mali, we decided to feature a script that describes some of the measures people can take to prevent food contamination in their kitchens. Although this script is directed at small-scale food vendors, the food safety advice is universal.

This script comes from DCFRN Package 46, Script 8, October 1997, and can be found online at: http://farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/46-8script_en.asp

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