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We are a world leader in

Radio for rural development

We are a world leader in

Radio for rural development

farmer-interview

We are the only international non-profit organization focused on using radio to help African farming communities help themselves.

Why radio?
Learn more about our work
Our story

It all got started on a bumpy bus ride in Zambia back in 1975. It was then that a Canadian broadcaster named George Atkins got a simple but powerful idea that would go on to improve the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable farmers.

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Our people

Our team consists of about 75 staff members with a wide range of expertise, a dedicated board of directors and several hard-working volunteers. The vast majority of our staff are locals based in our country offices and their knowledge of regional contexts, issues and languages is central to our success.

Senior management

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Kevin Perkins

Executive Director

Kevin Perkins, Executive Director

Kevin has been a leader in the field of international and community development for over 25 years and the executive director of Farm Radio International since 2006. Before that, he worked for the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) in Toronto, where he led their international programs. From 1997 to 2004, Kevin focused on his own neighbourhood in Toronto, establishing the ACCESS Riverdale Community Loan Fund and leading the Riverdale Community Development Corporation as its first executive director. He studied International Development at the University of Toronto and Voluntary Sector Management at York University’s Schulich School of Business.

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Gizaw Shibru

Director of Operations

Gizaw Shibru, Director of Operations

Gizaw has over 25 years of experience in community development and humanitarian relief in Africa, including 20 years as the director of Canadian Physicians for Aid & Relief (CPAR) Uganda. He has significant experience planning, implementing, and evaluating a wide range of projects and programs, including in relief, rehabilitation and rural development. Gizaw holds an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and a masters degree in engineering from Karlesruhe Institute of Technology.

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Ian Pringle

Director of Programs

Ian Pringle, Director of Programs

Specializing in community-based, outcome-oriented media, communication, and learning, Ian has 30 years of experience in program leadership, development and delivery — including 20 years in developing country contexts. He holds a MA in New Media in Society from the University of Leicester and a BA from McGill University. Formerly a special consultant with UNESCO and media education specialist at the Commonwealth of Learning, Ian has been the Director of Programs at Farm Radio since 2015.

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Blythe McKay

Director of Broadcaster Resources

Blythe McKay, Director of Broadcaster Resources

With 14 years of experience in radio for development, Blythe has been with Farm Radio International since 2005. Her department serves broadcasters with resources and training that help them create interactive radio programs for farmers. She has an MSc in Rural Extension Studies from the University of Guelph. In 2004, Blythe was awarded a research internship at IDRC to explore how radio programming could improve community participation in natural resource management in Ghana.

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Rex Chapota

Strategic Opportunities Advisor & Regional Program Manager for East and Southern Africa

Rex Chapota, Strategic Opportunities Advisor & Regional Program Manager for East and Southern Africa

Rex was the founding executive director of Farm Radio Trust in Malawi from 2010 until he joined our team in 2018. With two decades’ experience in rural development projects, he is passionate about the potential of radio and other technologies to bring about real change for Africa’s farmers. Rex holds an MSc in Rural Development from the University of London and a BSc and Diploma in Agriculture from the University of Malawi. Rex actively contributes to the Civil Society Network in Agriculture, the Malawi Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services, Girl Effect and Heifer International.

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Karen Hampson

Senior Program Development Manager

Karen Hampson, Senior Program Development Manager

Karen has over 20 years’ experience in international development, supporting farming communities on three continents. After two years in Ottawa and five years in Tanzania with Farm Radio, Karen is now based in Europe, where she supports organizational and program strategy and builds partnerships with international organisations and research centres to use radio and ICT-enabled approaches for reaching and engaging with farmers. Karen holds an MSc in Crop Science and a BSc in International Development.

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Caroline Montpetit

Regional Program Manager for West Africa and Gender Specialist

Caroline Montpetit, Regional Program Manager for West Africa and Gender Specialist

With 9 years’ experience in international development, Caroline oversees FRI’s programming in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal and helps to integrate gender equality across our work.

Prior to joining FRI in 2013, Caroline worked internationally in community development and gender equality. She also coordinated international maternal and newborn health projects for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and conducted research on gender-based violence. Caroline holds an MA in Feminist and Gender Studies and a BA in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa.

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Brenda Jackson

Fundraising Manager

Brenda Jackson, Fundraising Manager

Brenda has been a proud member of the Farm Radio team since 2006. She manages our fundraising and public engagement efforts, with the goal of creating a model for excellence in donor relations. Brenda feels very fortunate to have had many conversations with Farm Radio’s founder, George Atkins, and to have met him while producing our 30th anniversary video. Prior to Farm Radio, Brenda worked in marketing and communications for more than 10 years.

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Jean-Marie Niangoran

Finance Manager

Jean-Marie Niangoran, Finance Manager

Jean-Marie has worked in financial management and accounting for more than 15 years, serving organizations within both the international and Canadian non-profit sector as well as the private sector. He holds CPA and CMA accounting designations as well as an MBA from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQÀM). Fully bilingual, Jean-Marie has a depth of experience across western, central and southern African countries.

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Mark Leclair

Manager, Communications and Knowledge Management

Mark Leclair, Manager, Communications and Knowledge Management

Mark is a communication-for-development expert with 10 years of professional experience in program development, design and evaluation, as well as project management and coordination. Having joined Farm Radio in 2008, Mark currently leads the Communications department and Knowledge Management specialty team. His work focuses on building visibility for FRI’s work through research, publishing and digital communications. Mark has an MA in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) as well as an undergraduate degree in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa.

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Sylvie Harrison

Radio Craft Team Lead

Sylvie Harrison, Radio Craft Team Lead

Sylvie joined the Farm Radio staff in 2014 after spending a year volunteering for us in Ghana. Now head of her team, Sylvie works to systematize radio program designs, radio craft training, radio program monitoring and evaluation for quality improvement. She also develops training materials and tools to help broadcasters grow professionally. Sylvie holds a BA in English literature and a teaching degree from Laurentian University and has worked in both private and public broadcasting.

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Bernard Pelletier

Knowledge Management Team Lead

Bernard Pelletier, Knowledge Management Team Lead

After nine years on our board of directors, Bernard became a Farm Radio staff member in June 2017 and now oversees all monitoring, evaluation, research and learning activities. From 2000 to 2016, Bernard was a research associate, lecturer and manager of agricultural and international development projects at McGill University, where he obtained his PhD in 2001 which involved extensive research on small-scale farming systems in Malawi.

Country offices

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Burkina Faso

B.P. 3440, Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso

burkinafaso@farmradio.org

ethiopia

Ethiopia

PO Box 19084, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ethiopia@farmradio.org

ghana

Ghana

c/o WUSC-Ghana
PO Box AH 1265, Achimota-Accra, Ghana

ghana@farmradio.org

kenya

Kenya

c/o Kenya Community Media Network of​ Shalom House
Off Ngong Road, St. Daniel Comboni Rd, Wing C, 1st Floor, PO Box 2641 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

kenya@farmradio.org

mali

Mali

Road 270, Door 172, PO Box E84, Niamokoro Cité UNICEF, Bamako, Mali,

mali@farmradio.org

mozambique

Mozambique

c/o NCBA CLUSA
Av. Eduardo Mondlane, Edifício Girassol N0.326*, 3º Andar-314-Nampula, Mozambique

mozambique@farmradio.org

nigeria

Nigeria

c/o Institute for Media and Society
3 Emina Crescent, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

nigeria@farmradio.org

senegal

Senegal

c/o CECI
Boulevard du sud, Point E, B.P. 6112 11524, Dakar Etoile, République du Sénégal

senegal@farmradio.org

tanzania

Tanzania

PO Box 16604, Arusha, Tanzania

tanzania@farmradio.org

uganda

Uganda

Canon Road, Katutu Close, Ntinda, Kampala, PO Box 40142

uganda@farmradio.org

Board of directors

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John van Mossel

Chair

John van Mossel, Member-at-Large

John has worked for over 30 years in international development and environmental programs. He has considerable Africa experience, including the last 13 years focused on governance and sustainable development/climate change programs. Currently he is a senior consultant for ICF Marbek (Ottawa) where he has recently managed a five-year climate change adaptation project in Nigeria. As a private consultant, John has worked several clients including CARE, Commonwealth of Learning, the Canadian Coalition for Climate Change and Development, Development and Peace, Development Workshop (Angola), Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAIT), One Sky and Greenpeace International. Earlier, John was a senior consultant with GCSI Inc, (Ottawa) where he was the operational manager for two multi-year climate change adaptation projects (Nigeria and the Caribbean), participated in World Bank environmental projects and prepared environmental reports for Canadian clients. Prior to 1999 John worked for CUSO for 18 years, including 6+ years as Country Director (Botswana) and Regional Program Coordinator (Zambia). He has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Waterloo) and a Master of Arts – public administration/innovation, science and environment (Carleton).

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Nancy Brown Andison

Vice-Chair

Nancy Brown Andison, Treasurer

Nancy is a former management consultant for IBM in Toronto, and specializes in change management, program design and evaluation, and agriculture and agri-food industry programs and policies. Nancy has a family farming background and remains active in her parents’ family farm business. She holds a B.Sc. (Agriculture) from University of Guelph, and an MBA from Queen’s University.

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Heather Meek

Treasurer

Heather Meek, Member-at-Large

Heather is a management consultant for PwC in Ottawa and specializes in business and operations transformation for government, corporate, and not-for-profit organizations. In addition to over 15 years of management consulting experience, Heather owned and developed a rapidly growing retail franchising business from 2008 to 2015. She has a family farming background and has had a lifelong involvement in the agriculture and agri-food industry. Heather holds a B.Sc. (Agriculture) and an M.Sc. (Agricultural Economics) from the University of Guelph.

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Doug Ward

Member-at-Large

Doug Ward, Chair

Doug worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 28 years as a radio producer, station manager, regional director and vice president. He was on the team of producers that started CBC Radio’s long-standing program “As It Happens”. Later, he directed CBC’s northern operations, emphasizing the recruitment and training of native northerners. Since 1988 he has served on the board of Inter Pares, a Canadian international social justice organization. He joined the board of Farm Radio International in 2001, and was Chair of the board from September 2002, until 2018.

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Sarah Andrewes

Member-at-Large

Sarah Andrewes, Member-at-Large

Sarah is a Vice President at Hill & Knowlton, Canada’s industry leader in public relations, public affairs and strategic communications. Sarah has over 12 years of communications experience during which time she has worked with many leading Canadian companies in the agriculture and food, professional services, financial services, technology and other sectors. Sarah holds a bachelor of arts degree from Carleton University and a public relations certificate from Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology. The eldest grandchild of Farm Radio International founder, Dr. George Atkins, Sarah first learned about the organization watching her grandparents stuff scripts into envelopes destined for faraway places.

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Jean Christie

Member-at-Large

Jean Christie, Member-at-Large

Jean has worked with civil society organizations for over four decades, in Canada and internationally. Except for a short foray into the domestic not-for-profit sector in Canada, her paid work has been international in scope. She served as the Executive Director of Inter Pares in the 1980s, the Director of International Liaison for the Rural Advancement Foundation International (now the ETC group) in the 1990s, and as Executive Director of the Voluntary Sector Forum in the early 2000s. Since then, she has been engaged as a consultant by a wide variety of civil society organizations. She has a special interest in the relationship between organized citizens and their governments, and in the role of civil society organizations in government and multilateral policy processes.

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Morag Humble

Member-at-Large

Morag Humble, Member-at-Large

Morag has been working in international development for over 25 years, focused primarily on gender and women’s health issues. She is a senior project manager and gender team co-lead at Agriteam Canada. She has managed or contributed as a technical advisor to projects in Pakistan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. From 1999 to 2001 she was field director for a health and population project in Bangladesh, and from 2011 to 2014 she was a health and HIV/AIDS technical advisor at the Canadian Cooperation Office in Mozambique. She served for many years on the Board of Directors of Action Canada for Population and Development and Canadians for Choice, stepping down after the successful merger of those two organizations with the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health. She has a BA (University of Alberta) and MA (Carleton) in Political Science, and a Master’s of Public Health from Harvard University.

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Pierre Kadet

Member-at-Large

Pierre Kadet, Member-at-Large

Pierre is a food security and nutrition specialist with over 13 years of academic, humanitarian assistance, and development aid experience in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin and Central America. He is currently CARE Canada’s team leader for Food Security and Resilience to Climate Change and the co-chair of the Canadian Food Security Policy Group. Pierre has worked previously with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Norwegian Refugee Council, Action Against Hunger, and as an independent consultant. Pierre holds a PhD in Physical Geography and Rural Planning from Montpellier University in France.

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Caitlynn Reesor

Member-at-Large

Caitlynn Reesor, Member-at-Large

Caitlynn lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where she works as the writer, host and producer of a popular agriculture radio show called Call of the Land. It is broadcast by 27 radio stations across Alberta. Prior to taking the helm at Call of the Land, Caitlynn was the writer, host and producer of The Agri-business Report, a one-hour daily radio program broadcast by CFCW. Caitlynn is strongly connected to and respected within the agriculture and agricultural communication field in Canada. She has been recognized with a number of awards and is frequently invited to make presentations, emcee events and give media interviews.

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Gulzar Samji

Member-at-Large

Gulzar Shamji, Member-at-Large

Gulzar is an independent consultant on international development, the empowerment of women and children, alleviating ultra-poverty, and the environment. She has worked with all levels of government and provided training to visiting government and non-government delegations including those from Indonesia, China, and India. She was appointed as an NGO representative on Canada’s delegation to the UN Preparatory Meetings for the 4th World Conference on Women. She has also served as a member of the Human Rights Tribunal for the Government of Canada. Gulzar is currently the vice president of the Women’s World Summit Foundation, an international organization whose focus is empowering rural women and preventing violence against women and children. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Makerere University in Uganda and a post-graduate diploma in Animal Physiology and Biochemistry from the Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations Faculty at Royal Agricultural and Veterinary University in Denmark.

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Jacqueline Toupin

Member-at-Large

Jacqueline Toupin, Member-at-Large

Jacqueline has 30 years of experience as a communicator, journalist and broadcaster dedicated to issues of development; rural and hinterland regions; peace and conflict; human rights; and health, in particular women’s and children’s health. She has a wealth of experience in radio and TV production (on air, writing, technical operation and producer) as well as radio training, including with First Nation communities in Canada’s north. She also spent three years in Mozambique training journalists at Radio Mozambique, and trained local broadcasters in East Timor during the United Nations’ UNTAET mission. She also brings expertise in communications and web-based social media development, having worked on media and advocacy work for the World Health Organization in Geneva. Jacqueline is fluently bilingual in English and French and can converse in Portuguese and Spanish.

Chinazom Chidolue

Chinazom Chidolue

Member-at-Large

Chinazom Chidolue, Member-at-Large

Chinazom is a Wealth Management Associate at RBC PH&N Investment Counsel in Toronto. Prior to joining the investment management industry, she worked as a public accountant in the audit group of PricewaterhouseCoopers Toronto, where she performed financial statement audits for leading multinational firms in the media, beverage, financial services, and technology sectors. Chinazom was born and raised in Nigeria. She has worked in her family’s large-scale agriculture business in the eastern part of Nigeria.

Chinazom holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and is a graduate of the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) of Ontario.

Eshete Hailu

Eshete Hailu

Member-at-Large

Eshete Hailu, Member-at-Large

Eshete Hailu has worked in the field of evaluation and accountability for several years. He is currently working for Health Canada as policy manager. He has previously worked in evaluation roles with Health Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency and as evaluation consultant with the Canadian International Development Agency and has also worked with the International Development Research Center, War Child Canada, and the Group of 78. Eshete received his B.A. in Economics from Asmara University, his M.A. in Economics from the University of Guelph and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Development and Cooperation from the University of Ottawa.

Elly Vandenberg

Elly Vandenberg

Member-at-Large

Elly Vandenberg, Member-at-Large

Elly Vandenberg is a champion for global sustainable development with extensive experience in policy, programming, governance and management. Elly has played leadership roles in international and national global development organizations. Her development expertise influenced the Government of Canada’s approach to global development and her contribution to students as professor of global practice at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Along with peace-building and human rights experience in Latin America and work in such challenging contexts as Iraq and South Sudan, Elly holds a degree in international development from the University of Toronto, international Hostile Environment Awareness Training, specialist certificates in management, York University/Manitoba Institute of Management and certification in professional executive coaching from Integral Coaching Canada®. Drawing from her experience working in government and the not-for-profit sector, Elly provides strategic advice and executive coaching to Canadian and global leaders. Elly is currently senior strategic advisor to the United Nations World Food Programme.

Jared Klassen

Jared Klassen

Member-at-Large

Jared Klassen, Member-at-Large

Jared Klassen has worked on global food security for the past decade, supporting and building coalitions for effective policy change. Previously, Jared worked for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Mennonite Central Committee, and a number of coalitions of international charities. Jared’s overseas experience has focused on agriculture and food security, community-based health programs, and local business development in places such as Southern Africa, India, and Latin America.

Nora Young

Nora Young

Member-at-Large

Nora Young, Member-at-Large

Nora Young is the host and the creator of Spark, CBC’s national radio show and podcast about technology and culture. She was the founding host of the CBC Radio show, Definitely not the Opera, where she often focused on new media and technology.

As a journalist, author, and speaker, Nora explores how new technology shapes the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. She has a particular interest in how new digital technologies can flatten hierarchies, spread ideas, and foster more sustainable environments. Her book, The Virtual Self, on the explosion of data about our behaviours, opinions, and actions, is published by McClelland and Stewart. She is an avid hobby podcaster and radio fan, though her favourite technology is her bicycle.

Jo-Anne Bund

Jo-Anne Bund

Member-at-Large

Jo-Anne Bund, Member-at-Large

Jo-Anne is a lawyer based in Calgary, Alberta. She has served as general counsel and corporate secretary in the private sector and as senior legal counsel with the Alberta Securities Commission. She has experience with legal matters related to governance, human resources, corporate finance and boards. Prior to commencing her legal career, Jo-Anne obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Development from the University of Toronto, during which time she volunteered with the United Nations Environment Program in Kenya and a Kenyan environmental non-governmental organization. Jo-Anne also previously worked as the administrator in the Ontario office of Canada World Youth and, many years ago, was a participant in a CWY exchange with Somalia. Jo-Anne holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Calgary.

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Mark Elliot

Member-at-Large

Mark Elliot, Member-at-Large

Mark is the co-founder of Venture Accelerator Partners.  He has spent over 20 years working on sales and marketing with large enterprises, small medium business, and nonprofits. At VA Partners Mark and the team have worked with over 150 growing organizations since the company’s founding in 2006.  Mark has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and was the valedictorian of his graduating class. He is also one of the grandchildren of Farm Radio International founder, Dr. George Atkins. In the past, to support Farm Radio International, Mark organized a yearly curling tournament in Toronto and explored corporate fundraising. 

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We strive to be accountable to the donors and funding partners who make our work possible by making the most of all funds received and reporting transparently and holistically on our results each year.
Annual reports
Financials

We have consistently earned Charity Intelligence’s highest rating of four stars.

Frequently asked questions

Do you want to know more about who we are, how we work, or how to support us?

If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.

Contact us

1-888-773-7717 (toll free) or 613-761-3650

1404 Scott Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4M8, Canada

General inquiries: info@farmradio.org
Partnership inquiries: partnerships@farmradio.org
Media inquiries: media@farmradio.org

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