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
New Skills Help Women Earn Extra Money
In many places, women are the ones who grow food, shop for food, cook, and feed the family. They also nurse family members who are sick. So when women spend their money, it is for the benefit of the whole family, not just themselves. But when the growing season is over, many women agricultural workers…
Gardening in Tires
We all need fresh vegetables in our diet to be healthy. And sometimes, growing them ourselves is the only way we can afford to eat them regularly. “But,” you say, “I live in the city. I don’t have space to grow vegetables.” Well, just because you live in a city doesn’t mean you can’t have…
The Ceramic Jiko Stove
In Kenya, many households, especially in urban areas, use a metal charcoal stove for cooking which is called a jiko stove. Recently researchers at KENGO (Kenya Energy and Environment Organizations) developed a new ceramic model of the jiko stove that uses less fuel and therefore helps to reduce deforestation. The new stove, called the ceramic…
Hints for the Small Farmer
How to Prepare Green Vegetables for the Dry Season By Sarah Massengo, Tanzania In many tropical climates, there is a wet season followed by a long, hot, dry season. In the wet season wild and cultivated vegetable crops grow well. People need the vitamins and minerals that come from these green vegetables to stay healthy.…
Reduce Lead in City Gardens
Many substances pollute the air around us, particularly in cities. Some chemicals even get into our garden soil and plants, and these can affect our health. One is of these is lead. We may not see or taste it, but some crops grown in cities may contain dangerous amounts of lead. So we need to…
Make Drylands Productive with Planting Pits
Even if you have dry, desert soils with a hard crust you can improve your land and grow crops again. In parts of West Africa farmers make cracked, hardpan soils productive again by planting their grain seeds in small pits. They plant sorghum and millet this way. Here’s how you can make these planting pits.…
The Rubber-Tire Groundnut Sheller
Groundnuts, or peanuts, are one of the major cash crops in some regions of Thailand and are an important source of protein for rural people. Thousands of Thai farmers work farms of less than one hectare of land, producing groundnuts by manual methods. This is a labour‑intensive process which, along with the low productivity of…
Chickens Fertilize and Weed the Garden
If you have a small farm or market garden you might be interested in a cheap way to fight weeds, fertilize the soil, and increase crop yields. Some people call it a chicken tractor even though it doesn’t have the engine that a normal tractor has. Instead it’s a bottomless cage that you can move…
Prevent Blindness with Vitamin A
If your children are having trouble seeing, you probably want to put something special over their eyes _ a pair of eyeglasses. But for a common kind of vision problem, the kind that starts when a child has trouble seeing in dim light, you should put something special in their stomachs. The special something you…
Garden on Your Rooftop
Are you making the best possible use of the space above your head? I’m talking about the space on top of your house – the rooftop! It’s possible to harvest lots of fresh vegetables from a rooftop garden and deliver them directly to your kitchen table. Go up to your rooftop or out to your…