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
Save Soil on Hillside Plots
ANNOUNCER: Is it possible to grow vegetables on a steep slope and prevent soil erosion at the same time? Farmers in a hilly part of Nigeria have a special way of growing vegetables on steep slopes. The method prevents good soil from washing down the hillsides, and holds water in the soil. And farmers can…
Garden While you Shower
I’m gardening with my shower Don’t think I want to stop I’m bathing with my garden And I’m watering my crop ANNOUNCER: Bathing with your fruits and vegetables may not sound like fun, but it can be very practical. The water that drains from your shower will irrigate vegetables and tree seedlings. You can even…
Trees and Rain
FADE IN THEME MUSIC AND CONTINUE UNDER DIALOGUE. ANNOUNCER: Today you are going to hear some thoughts about the effect of trees on rain. These thoughts are based on the observations of some farmers in the countries of Guatemala and Mexico. FADE OUT MUSIC. Many farmers study the relationship between trees and rain, and they…
How to Intercrop Yam, Maize, Melon and Cowpea
Our grandmothers and grandfathers had some very good ideas. They observed their fields and saw that some crops grew well when planted with other kinds of crops. Today we call it intercropping when a farmer plants two or more crops in the same field. Intercropping has many advantages. It reduces weed, pest and disease problems.…
Cuba Parks its Tractors and Returns to Oxen
Dust rises in the fields of the Cuban countryside. It is planting time and farmers are working their fields. But the dust in this field does not come from a tractor — it comes from oxen ploughing the field. Tractors are still around, but the cost of petroleum to run them and spare parts to…
Container Gardens Provide Fresh Vegetables for City Dwellers
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, you and I – in fact every person – should eat 300 grams of fresh vegetables every day to stay healthy. Three hundred grams is about one large bowl full of vegetables. With this in mind, a municipality in Cuba developed a program for…
Grow Food in the City
Do you live in a city where you spend much of your hard-earned income just to eat? Or, are you a farmer struggling to get food to city markets — battling the high cost of refrigeration and transportation? If this describes you, here’s something of interest. In the country of Cuba, a large quantity of…
Cuba Promotes “Green” Medicine
In Cuba, modern drugs are expensive and hard to find. Fortunately, Cuba, like many tropical countries, is blessed with a wide variety of medicinal plants. So the government is promoting what Cubans call “green medicine.” In pharmacies throughout the country, the shelves are full of medicines made from local plants. People grow medicinal plants everywhere…
Be Careful When You Transport Bananas
Nobody wants to buy cut or bruised bananas. That’s why when you grow bananas, the care that you take to pack and transport the cut bunches is just as important as the effort you put into growing the fruit. It is important that bananas reach the buyer in good condition. If they don’t, you may…
Cuba Rediscovers the Value of Root Crops
What makes a crop valuable? Today I am going to talk about how the people of Cuba rediscovered the value of root crops. In Cuba, taro, potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes and other root crops had lost popularity in recent times. But for many years – in fact, for most of Cuba’s history – farmers grew…