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
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…
Breastmilk Can Protect Your Baby from Sickness
Save and edit this resource as a Word document Content: Colostrum in breastmilk helps protect newborns from germs that cause tetanus, whooping cough, pneumonia, diphtheria, and stomach upsets. Mother: (shyly) I’m pregnant. Doctor: (laughing) Yes, I can see that. There’s no problem, is there? Have you just come for a check-up? Mother: No, you see,…
Good Cow Feed for all Seasons
Content: Silage is good cow feed at times of the year when other feed is scarce. There may be times of the year when you run out of fodder to feed your cow. Some farmers in India solve this problem by making silage. It takes a little planning, but it means that their cows are…
Women Know About Food from Trees
Content: People everywhere eat food from trees. Women farmers know about tree crops, and how to harvest and process them. If you were asked for a list of all the foods that you and your family eat which ones would you list? Probably, you would name crops such as rice, maize, sorghum, beans or potatoes.…
Neem Seed Spray Protects Crops
Content: Make a spray from neem seeds to protect crops from insect pests. Dry the seeds, crush them to a powder, soak overnight in water, and then apply to plants. Today it’s no-cost pest control! We’re going to talk about how you can use neem seeds to control some of the insects that attack your…
Eucalyptus Leaves Control Grain Moth
A Guatemalan farmer uses crushed eucalyptus leaves to control grain moths in stored maize. José Elias is a farmer in Guatemala in Central America. For many years he had a problem with grain moths (Sitotroga cerealella) eating his stored maize. The moths would eat the centre of the kernels and leave the outside part. He…