Economics of Rural Radio in Africa: An Introductory Study into the Costs and Revenues (Chris Yordy)

The African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI) was a 42-month action search project implemented by Farm Radio International in partnership with World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. AFRRI set out to test the effectiveness of a new type of radio campaign: the participatory radio campaign (PRC). Working with partner radio stations in five African countries, AFRRI created a series of farm radio programs designed to educate farmers, and enable them to improve their agricultural practices. This is the major research report coming out of this multi-country action research project. The learnings from this project have provided valuable insights into how to do interactive rural radio in the rest of FRI’s work.

This particular study examines the effectiveness of radio communications in improving agricultural productivity and food security for rural communities in Africa. The field of radio economics in Africa was, prior to this study, virtually unexplored.