Radio transmits info in Uganda
i.new IITA
 Buyers and sellers converge at Uganda's biggest market, St.
Balikudembe.
Farmers and traders throughout Uganda are tuning their radios to FM stations
broadcasting reliable local market information in their local language—IITA’s
innovative way to help African people improve their livelihoods.
They’re listening to the latest prices, trade volumes, and growing conditions
for the crops they produce. The information is gathered from across the country
and from the villages and markets in their area by agents who travel among the
community on motorbikes.
These information gatherers are also information sharers. Farmers and traders
ask them questions, and the answers to these questions often find their way into
the week’s radio script.
Take the example of a buyer who wants 2 tonnes of beans. A single farmer can’t
fill the order, but a group of 20 organized farmers can. Instead of losing the
sale, farmers can find out how to link up with others to sell more beans.
“Local FM radio reaches a lot of people. It’s in their language and it’s
about their needs, so people feel it’s very much about what they are doing,”
said FOODNET coordinator Dr. Shaun Ferris of IITA.
FOODNET is an agricultural market and postharvest research for development
network based in Eastern and Central Africa coordinated by IITA and funded by
USAID and other donors.
In 1999, FOODNET’s Market Information Service was set up to gather and analyze
data from market centers in Uganda. It’s now working with local farmers and
small-scale traders in 17 districts. The information is broadcast on 11 FM
stations, and FOODNET estimates as many as 10 million listeners are tuning in.
As part of the market news service, FOODNET distributes English radio scripts
for a 2-minute news bulletin and a 10-minute end-of-the-week roundup to the
stations, where they are translated into 12 local languages. The scripts are
read on the air throughout the week, often as part of agriculture radio shows.
Updating the local information once a week doesn’t cover the ever-changing
markets. FOODNET is planning to develop a commercial media agency funded through
advertising, which would also make radio programs about health, nutrition, and
local governance. This way, the power of radio can transmit more, up-to-date
information to people throughout Uganda.
More Information:
I.new, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA. www.iita.org
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