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
Participatory Experiments with Green Manure
Have you heard…? From Guatemala The Boca Costa of Sololá, Guatemala is located at the base of the Santo Tomas volcano. The main crops in the region are coffee and bananas (800 to 1400 metres), corn, and beans. The corn growing land is sloping, and soil erosion is a major problem. Maize yields in the…
Breaking the Guinea Worm Cycle
It is a painful affliction that is so common you may have suffered it yourself. Or your children have, or your neighbour. Chances are many people in your village have been crippled by the pain of this condition, and some of them never recovered completely. It is called Guinea worm, and it is probably as…
Neem Leaf Spray Controls Pests
Today it’s no cost pest control! Use neem leaves to make a pest control solution. Neem spray is effective against many pests of grain and vegetable crops. For example, neem spray can affect locusts, bean aphids, whiteflies, houseflies, Mexican bean beetles, Colorado potato beetles, corn earworms, and cabbage loopers. And because there are always green…
Women Use Wild Plants for Food and Medicine
Around the world, women know how to gather, prepare, and use many different kinds of wild plants. Women have developed this important knowledge because they provide food and medicine for their families. Women learn at an early age how to find and use wild plants. Their teachers are usually their mothers and grandmothers. Nowadays, it…
Eat Grain Sprouts for Better Health
Eating grain sprouts improves your diet and stretches your budget at the same time. Like dry grain, grain sprouts, also simply called “sprouts” contain protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins A and B. But sprouts also contain vitamin C, which is missing in the dry grain. You need vitamin C to protect yourself against infections and…
Muscovy Ducks are Easy to Raise and they Control Flies
If you are looking for poultry that is easy to care for, resists disease, and controls flies at the same time, then Muscovy ducks are a good choice for you. They are healthy and hardy, they forage well for their own food, and reproduce easily. And they do a great job controlling flies. Muscovy meat…
Grow Your Own Living Fence
Save and edit this resource as a Word document Living fences are rows of trees or shrubs planted together to form a barrier. They are useful for farmers who need fences to mark boundaries, separate fields, keep animals from straying, form windbreaks, or support vines. Living fences are a good choice for many reasons. They…
Ethiopian farmer grows seeds of survival
Mohamad Abegaz Abuye is an Ethiopian farmer who has always known that the traditional, sometimes forgotten crop varieties of yesterday can help feed his family today. Mohamad farms two hectares of land with his only son. He uses almost everything he grows to feed his family. He grows sorghum, corn teff, wheat, fava beans, lentils,…
Participant Notes
A Good Way to Grow Trees Suwaiba Suleiman Isah Current Affairs Officer Katsina State Radio and Television Service Nigeria The Nigerian Association of Women Journalists started a successful campaign to plant trees in parts of the country where the desert is creeping in. The people start planting at the beginning of the rainy season, so…
Breastmilk Keeps Babies Healthy
I am going to tell you about mother’s milk and how a baby feeds. We’ll also talk about some of the problems you may have while breastfeeding. Let’s start by stressing that nature has designed human milk for the human baby. Cow’s milk is made for calves, and even when processed for commercial use is…