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
A Nutritious Baby Food You Can Make
You probably know that the best possible food for your baby during the first four to six months of life is your own breast milk. Your milk has all the good things in it that your baby needs to grow and stay healthy. As your baby grows, the time will come when she needs more…
Cross-ridging Holds Precious Rainwater on the Land
Do your crops sometimes suffer from lack of water? If so, and if your land is flat or almost flat, what I’m going to tell you now may help you increase your crop yields next season. Sometimes when it rains, so much water falls in such a short time that it can’t all sink into…
Windbreaks Protect Crops and Soil
Here’s some information of special interest to farmers who live in places where the soil is dry. Have you noticed that the soil blows around your fields? Are your crops stunted? Have they stopped growing? You are not alone. Many farmers worry that they will have to keep moving to find better land for farming.…
A Fertility Trench Holds Water in Dry Lands
Does the soil in your garden get dry and hard in the dry season? Is it difficult to grow vegetables because you don’t have enough water? Some farmers with these problems grow very good gardens, even in the dry season. Here’s how they do it. During the rainy season they dig a fertility trench. A…
More eggs from Khaki Campbell ducks
Did you know that there is a kind of duck that can provide you with as many eggs as the white leghorn chicken? It’s a breed called the Khaki Campbell duck. With proper care a Khaki Campbell duck can lay more than 300 eggs per year. And the Khaki Campbell duck has other advantages. These…
Grow Moringa for Food and Fodder
An ideal tree to grow in the city or country is moringa (Moringa oleifera). Moringa will give you food, fodder, fuelwood and shade. Its pods make a tasty, nutritious vegetable. You can eat its tender leaves and flowers too. The leaves also make excellent livestock feed. Best of all, this useful tree grows quickly and…
Stone Lines Reduce Erosion
As a farmer you may live in a place where the land is dry. You might have noticed that soil blows around and that your crops don’t grow or are stunted. It may have started with a drought, or drought has made it worse, and you are worried that you will have to keep moving…
Prevent Erosion with Vetiver Grass
Vetiver grass (Vetiver zizanioides) can stop your soil from running away from home. Farmers all over the world use it to prevent soil from eroding on hillsides. It may work for you. If you plant vetiver close together in a row it makes a thick hedge. This hedge slows the flow of water down a…
How to Plant Bamboo Cuttings
The bamboo plant has many uses. It can be used to carry water, as a building material, and to control erosion on riverbanks. Yet not many farmers grow it. It just grows wild. Most types of bamboo grow shoots from underground stems called rhizomes. These shoots grow into tall, above-ground trunks. If you are planning…
Home care for people with AIDS
By the year 2000, scientists estimate that close to forty million people will be infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS. There is the chance that someone you know or someone very close to you will get this disease. Even today, in many places, local health services cannot cope with the number of…