CBC As It Happens: Radio helps farmers impacted by locust infestation

Some of the most important work we do involves helping farmers deal with disaster. 

Today, East Africa, and Kenya in particular, are facing locust swarms — in some cases worse than any they have faced in 70 years. The damage is unprecedented, and farmers are seeing their entire yearly crops devastated by the swarms.

But radio is on the front line of the locust infestation.

Moses Omondi is our radio craft and program officer in Kenya. On February 13, even while World Radio Day celebrations were happening across the world, he was in the field visiting communities impacted by the locusts.

He took time out of his day to speak with Carol Off on As it Happens about what he was seeing on the ground, and what we are doing to try and help. 

We’re doing the best we can to support broadcasters with the information they need to help their listeners react, cope with, and recover from the locust infestations. As we speak our teams in East Africa are producing critical resources to get to radio stations in the region to support them in this work.

At the moment, we’re commissioning three stories about recovery for broadcasters to use for their shows, and eight radio spots that provide essential information to farmers that they can broadcast on their stations. We are also running resource groups for broadcasters on Whatsapp that are discussing how broadcasters can help, and we have shared our resources on using radio in emergencies there as well. 

Information on how to recover from the locust swarms and how to lessen the impact on destroyed fields is sorely needed. We will continue to do our best to provide the support that broadcasters need.