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Sharing knowledge, giving voice
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FRI was established in
1979
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“We envision a world where the work
of African farm families brings
prosperity and food security to
themselves, their communities and
their countries.
OUR VISION
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“We support African broadcasters to
provide radio services that share
knowledge and amplify the voices of
small scale farmers, their families
and their communities.
OUR MISSION
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Why Radio?
Radio is the best, most reliable, and often the only way to provide small scale farmers with information in their
own language that they can understand and act on.
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Even Today?
With the spread of mobile phones, radio is more effective than ever: two way, interactive, voice-giving
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RADIO IS DEAD . . .
LONG LIVE RADIO!
As generations of farmers know, radio, when done well, can impact millions with actionable and relevant
information on proven innovations.
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CANADIANEXPERTISE
FRI’s beginning arose out of a strong Canadian history in the area of communication for development.
Watch George Atkins, former CBC broadcaster and FRI’s founder, explain how the organization got its start on a bus in Zambia.
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600+ radio partners
in 38 countries in sub-Saharan Africa
8 offices in African countriesincluding a regional office in Arusha, Tanzania
40+ development partnerships
since 2010
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COUNTRY OFFICES
○ Burkina Faso○ Ethiopia○ Ghana○ Kenya○ Malawi*○ Mali○ Niger○ Tanzania○ Uganda
* in Malawi we work with our strategic partner and affiliate, Farm Radio Trust, a national
NGO
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RESOURCES AND
SERVICES○ Radio scripts / resource
packs○ “How to” documents○ Online news service○ Social networking site for
broadcasters○ eLearning courses○ Convening the FRI network
OUR WORK
INTERACTIVE RADIO
PROJECTS○ Radio for development
projects○ Polling and feedback shows○ Radio strategies on:
● staple crops● value chains● weather advisory● marketing● health● nutrition● employment● climate change adaptation
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RADIO RESOURCES
We equip radio presenters, producers and managers with the training and content resources necessary to
produce entertaining and informative radio.
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RADIO RESOURCES
○Radio scripts / resource packs (over 1,000
items to date)
○News stories / news service
○“How to” documents
○eLearning courses
○Network of 600+ radio partners
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ACHIEVING SCALEThrough Interactive Radio Projects
Radio, when done well, can impact millions with actionable and relevant information on innovations that
have been proven to work for farmers.
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1.PARTICIPATORY METHODS
Interactive participatory radio can help farmers learn, discuss and adopt on a large scale.
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2.PROVEN TECHNIQUES
FRI has tested its participatory radio campaign methodology over 100 times across 8 countries.
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3.MULTI STAKEHOLDER
FRI’s approach is based heavily on playing a “convening” role with multiple partners including government, the private sector and NGOs.
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4.ENHANCING TRADITIONAL EXTENSION
FRI’s approach aims to enable traditional extension workers to do their job more efficiently and reach more farmers with crucial information.
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OUR RADIO APPROACHES
REGULAR FARMER PROGRAMA regular farmer program is an ongoing radio program geared to meet the information needs of
the listening audience. It builds a relationship between and among farmers, broadcasters and
extension services to share knowledge and amplify the voices of farmers.
PARTICIPATORY RADIO SERIES (PRS)A PRS is aimed at increasing knowledge around a particular topic, agricultural improvement or
health issue. It includes the voices of farmers to ensure the program is relevant to the knowledge
and attitudes of listeners.
PARTICIPATORY RADIO CAMPAIGN (PRC)A regular farmer program is an ongoing radio program geared to meet the information needs of
the listening audience. It builds a relationship between and among farmers, broadcasters and
extension services to share knowledge and amplify the voices of farmers.
RADIO MARKETPLACE (RMP)An RMP is an ongoing radio program aimed at supporting farmers to secure the maximum value
from their harvest. These participatory programs address market barriers farmers may face and
discuss the basics of marketing: place, price, product and profit.
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OUR RADIO APPROACHES
REALITY RADIOReality radio is a ground-breaking radio program aimed at shifting attitudes and perspectives on
an issue. This format maximizes on entertainment value and often appeals to the younger
generation of listeners.
RADIO DRAMAThis entertaining radio feature can increase awareness of and shift attitudes towards a particular
issue. FRI has extensive experience in working with local African writers and production houses to
create entertaining dramas with high production value, while still targeting the content towards
local circumstances and cultural dynamics.
LISTENING POSTThis short radio series serves to measure attitudes and opinions on specific questions in real-
time, allowing project stakeholders to plan mid-course corrections to development projects or
solicit unfiltered opinions from rural audiences.
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farmradio.org@farmradio
What is reality radio? In 2013 FRI worked with the Rockefeller Foundation to create a brand new form of radio in Mali. It follows the ups and downs of 6 young contestants who are vying to become Mali’s best new farmer. Youth in many African countries have a perception that farming is not a profitable enterprise. This project aimed to change that.
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25,000,000
Estimated number of African farmers provided with radio-based extension services since 2010
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50%
A 2014 study with Irish Aid in 4 countries showed that
on average, Quiz scores were 50% higher for listeners
than non-listeners.
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5x
A 2014 study with Irish Aid in 4 countries showed that
on average, people in listening communities are 5x
more likely to to take up a practice featured in a
participatory radio campaign.
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LASTING CHANGE
FRI uses an “in-station” approach to training of radio broadcasters which aims to build the skills of all station
personnel to deliver high quality radio.
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1.FACE TO FACE TRAINING
As part of impact projects with other development partners, stations get professional face-to-face training.
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2.CONSISTENT STANDARDS
All radio partners are trained on and adhere to the FRI “VOICE Standards” for radio program quality.
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3.DISTANCE COACHING AND TRAINING
FRI hosts online eLearning courses to complement in-person training and offers distance coaching for station staff.
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100+
Radio stations trained on standardized FRI approach to participatory communication since 2010.
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ICT INNOVATION
FRI integrates interactive mobile technologies into all of its projects which enable two-way communication and
leads to a better impact on audiences.
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1.RADIO AND ICT INNOVATION LAB
FRI has established a bleeding-edge Radio & ICT innovation lab in Arusha, Tanzania.
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2.LOW COST INTERACTIVITY
FRI has developed ICT-enabled services that leverage voice, SMS and data which can be offered for little to no cost for the end user.
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3.INSTANTANEOUS FEEDBACK
The ICT innovations that are present in all of FRI’s projects enable real-time feedback by listeners which can provide valuable M&E data.
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4.AMPLIFYING FARMER VOICES
Using radio and integrated ICTs to solicit real-time, large-scale feedback on various topics. This can be used to hold decision makers to account and can aid in mid-term corrections for projects.
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10,000
Number of farmers that took part in a country-wide polling radio program aimed at understanding their
access to markets in Tanzania in 2013.
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HEARING FROMTANZANIANS
Over a three-week period in June, Farm Radio invited Tanzanians to respond to four questions which are central to Canada’s international assistance policy.
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3000
Nearly 3000 Tanzanians shared their perspectives in response to a survey administered in partnership with
two Tanzanian radio stations. This Listening Post program resulted in over 9,000 unique interactions with
listeners.
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5.MAPPING REACH
Cutting edge mapping technology is used to estimate reach and to understand needs and opportunities in broadcast zones
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Experience a demo of FRI’s “Beep4Weather” service. A weather advisory service that goes beyond simply providing a forecast. It includes vital info but also weather interpretation via voice and is completely free for the farmer.
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COST EFFECTIVE
FRI can provide unprecedented impact for a fraction of the cost of many traditional rural extension models.
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1.COST PER LISTENER
FRI’s impact projects can reach a farmer with vital extension information for pennies per listener.
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2.COST PER ADOPTER
FRI’s participatory radio campaigns can persuade listeners to adopt agricultural practices for about $1 USD per farmer.
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farmradio.org@farmradio
AWARD WINNING
2010
2012
2013 2015
2014
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OUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE
From projects to platforms
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INTERACTIVE RURAL RADIO PLATFORMS
Move from one-off projects to interactive radio
platforms that become an integral and transformative
component of public extension systems at various
levels as well as a trusted and dependable mobilizer of
and advocate for small-scale producers.
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THANK YOU