Cultivating food security
Preventing hunger in sub-Saharan Africa
Help get small-scale farmers the information they need to provide for their families.
"Agriculture is the backbone of our community," says Rosemary Kansiime, a 30-year-old farmer in Burungu village, in northwestern Uganda.
But farming has been getting harder every year, she says. Climate change has meant the rains she and her family have relied on for decades are changing. Inflation and the pandemic have made the cost of food and labour higher. And she's watched the soil degrade since her parents' time running the farm.
"Soil is the greatest hope that has ever existed. You put in seeds and it gives food."
And it's the same for many in Uganda, and those across East Africa who are facing drought conditions and conflict-caused food shortages.
But radio is helping. Rosemary is an avid listener to the program on Voice of Toro FM, where she gets essential information on how to rehabilitate her soil. Already, she's seeing improvement in her harvests.
"Farming is my life and it's our way of living," she says. "I can't even imagine what we would do without radio."
How you can help
Empower rural farmers like Rosemary with the knowledge they need to grow enough food to feed their families. We're working on radio programs in Uganda and East Africa that are keeping farmers informed and up to date on the skills they need to cope with drought, climate change, and food insecurity.
Become a monthly donor
We're so thankful for our monthly donors who enable us to respond to the changing needs of rural Africans quickly and without interruption.
Approximately 70 per cent of Ugandans work in agriculture, and the majority, like Rosemary, are small-scale farmers who farm less than a hectare (2.5 acres) of land.
Here's what Rosemary told us she has learned from radio programs on Voice of Toro FM:
- How to keep Matooke (banana) plantations clean and disease free
- How to naturally keep soil fertile using natural and organic ways rabbit urine, cow dung, and chicken droppings
- How to keep and raise a cow for manure
- How to access trustworth agricultural inputs like seeds
- Where to find markets for her produce
- How her women's group can access low profit loans to enhance their farming capacity
Help us continue to keep these programs on air, and keep rural farmers like Rosemary informed about how to keep their farms running and their families food secure. Donate today.
Rosemary's tomato harvest is loaded onto a bodaboda (motorcycle) for transit to market.
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