Backgrounders
Backgrounders are brief introductions to important and technical topics and Answers to frequently asked questions share key information on a topic.
Use this information to plan an episode or series of episodes on the topic, to prepare for an interview, or to answer questions from callers.
- All
- Agriculture
- Aquaculture
- Children and youth
- Climate change
- Community development
- Crop production
- Energy
- Environment and climate change
- Gender equality
- Health
- Hygiene and sanitation
- Land issues
- Livestock and beekeeping
- Marketing and market information
- Nature-based Solutions
- Nutrition
- Post-harvest activities
- Social issues
- Soil health
- Trees and agroforestry
- Water management
Issue Pack: Water harvesting
True stories about water harvesting Farmer Abadi Redehey lives in the Central Zone of Tigray Region, a semi-arid highland area in northern Ethiopia. Here, the wet season lasts from July to September or October and is followed by a long dry season. Even in the wet season, rains can be irregular. The farmer has…
Issue Pack: Soil fertility and climate change
Farmer success stories on soil fertility Samison Banda, from Mchinji, Malawi, manages his farm with his sister and two nephews. Because his fields lie on a hillside, his ridges and crops were often washed away by heavy rains in the past. “I used to plant three to four times every year because ridges were…
Issue Pack: Awareness of climate change
Stories Augustine Yelfaanibe is a 36-year-old farmer in Nandom, a small town in the Upper West Region of Ghana. He remembers that when he was young, signs of rainy weather were obvious by mid-March. Most farmers prepared their land soon after the New Year. This ensured an early harvest, with enough food to survive the…
Issue Pack: Soil Health
Story 1: Ayelech Fikre is a 63-year widow who farms in the highlands of central Ethiopia.When she took over the family farm from her father, she saw how heavy rainstorms had washed away her soil and created gullies. So she began to take action to prevent the storms from robbing her of her precious soil.…
Issue Pack: Healthy Communities
1. Introduction – four true stories about healthy communities Story 1 : Betty says that everyone in Zambia knows her as a positive woman. In 2001, about 35 HIV-positive women and five men started meeting and contributing money. With their pooled funds, they bought three pigs. A chief gave them five acres for their efforts.…
Issue Pack: Agricultural co-operatives
1. Introduction – two true stories about agricultural co-operatives Story 1 : Makuyuni lies on the main road between Arusha and the Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks in Tanzania. Streams of tourists pass through the area. But just a few kilometres from the road is a totally different world. Small-scale farmers farm small, arid plots of…
Save Soil on Sloping Land
If you plant your crops on sloping land, losing soil might be a problem for you. Perhaps you have tried different ways to save your soil. Farmers at a co-operative in Guatemala have found a way to conserve soil where they plant maize. Their method stops soil from washing away down the hillsides, and it…
Issue Pack: African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI)
1. Introduction – true stories about how AFRRI Participatory Radio Campaigns (PRCs) and Market Information Services (MIS) programs helped small-scale African farmers Story 1: Neem PRC in Ghana: Georgina Kare, a farmer in Odumase, Ghana says, “I learned about neem from the AFRRI program. I cut the dry leaves of the neem tree and put them in…
Improved fallows for African farmers
What is the difference between a natural fallow and an improved fallow? Natural fallow is simply land resting from cultivation. Usually it is left to natural vegetation for a long period to restore soil fertility. Improved fallow is also land resting from cultivation, but the farmer plants leguminous trees, shrubs and/or herbaceous cover crops on…