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.
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- Agriculture
- Aquaculture
- Children and youth
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- Community development
- Crop production
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- Environment and climate change
- Gender equality
- Health
- Hygiene and sanitation
- Land issues
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- Nature-based Solutions
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- Water management
No Pit Latrine Produces Fertilizer
A new type of latrine improves health by breaking the cycle of fecal contamination and the spread of diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis, typhoid, and parasitic infections. It also provides farmers with fertilizer for their crops. The high quality organic fertilizer produced by the new latrine reduces farmers’ costs and helps to avoid the long…
Hand Held Scale to Identify Low Weight Newborns
Millions of underweight infants are born each year. Because these babies run an increased risk of illness and death they need special care. Midwives and traditional birth attendants must be able to identify which newborns need special attention. The Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) has developed a simple scale for midwives, nurses, and…
Diffused Light Storage for Seed Potatoes
Save and edit this resource as a Word document. Potatoes are a staple crop in 130 countries and rank fourth in production after wheat, maize, and rice. In Peru and other countries in the Andean highlands, potatoes are the main crop. Traditionally, farmers store their potatoes at home in a dark room to prevent them…
A Special Clay Pot Helps Tree Seedlings Survive
If you have tried to grow trees in dry areas you know how difficult it can be. Water poured onto plants disappears quickly into the soil or evaporates before the roots are able to use it. Here are two ideas to help young trees survive in dry lands. An idea from India: jaltripti clay pot…
Plant High Quality Cassava Cuttings
If you use high quality cuttings to plant cassava, you can increase the yield of your next cassava crop. If you grow cassava, you know that you start a new crop by planting sections of the stems of mature cassava plants. We call these stem cuttings. They’re also known as planting stakes, planting sticks or…
How Farmers use Biological Pest Control
Part I: Chickens control ticks In nature, small birds keep wild buffaloes free of pests by eating ticks and other insects that attack them. These small birds are natural predators of ticks. Veterinarians in Kenya use a method of tick control for cows that copies this behaviour. Here is the method, which you might want…
Why Women Need to Know About Land Rights
As a woman farmer, whether you own, rent, or borrow the land you cultivate, it is important to learn more about your rights to the land. Knowing more about land laws and regulations can affect the way you farm and the well-being of your family. One of the most important parts of farming is having…
How to Manage Maize Stemborers
Is the maize stemborer a problem pest for you? If so, don’t despair. You can rescue your crop and reduce pest damage if you take the time to observe your crops and the stemborers carefully. Start by watching the activity of the stemborers. You will see that they start by chewing holes in the leaves…
The Jab-Seeder: A Tool for Manual Seeding
In the northeast part of Thailand, poor soybean farmers who cannot afford power driven farm tools spend long, tiring hours seeding their farms by hand. It is done in three steps: making the holes, dropping the seeds in, and covering them up. The task is time consuming and tiring. The Asian Institute of Technology in…
Forage System for Semi Arid Areas
In Bali, Indonesia, it is common for farmers to mix crop and animal systems. In the dry regions cattle are very important, bringing in up to 43% of the total farm income. Native grasses, tree leaves, and cereal straws are used as feed, but the supply is often inadequate. To increase the availability of animal…