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
Uninvited Guests for Dinner: Managing the Cabbage Worm
Would you share your dinner with someone who has 20 legs? Would you share your dinner with someone who steals from you? Probably not, but this may be happening to you right now. In your garden the hungry cabbage worm (Artogeia rape or Pieris rapae) is busy eating part of your dinner. The cabbage worm…
Understanding Plant Disease, Part Two
Today we are going to tell you about some simple ways you can stop diseases from damaging your crops. If you do these simple things, your plants will have a better chance to stay healthy and free of diseases. Even if you don’t know the name of the disease that is hurting your plants, there…
Understanding Plant Diseases, Part One
Do you wonder why the leaves on your plants are curling up or falling off? Or why, for example, the grain doesn’t form on your rice plants? There are many possible reasons. But here’s one explanation. Your plants might have a disease. Today, we will talk about what diseases are, and why plants get diseases.…
Growing Vegetables When Water is Scarce
Save and edit this resource as a Word document If your garden seems to be drying out, don’t give up hope! You can grow lots of tasty, nutritious food even if you live in a very dry climate. Here are some simple things you can do to make the best use of the water you…
How to Treat a Fever
A fever is a sign that someone is sick. You need to treat a fever. You also need to find out what is causing the sickness. Treating a fever is the same for every disease. But the treatment for the many diseases that cause a fever are different. This is why a person must go…
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…