Twenty farmers assemble in the small village of Chipwatu in Malawi. The meeting has become a weekly ritual in the community, and an important one at that. They turn on their radio set and gather around.

“Good evening, you are listening to Farm Radio,” the broadcaster announces. The programme begins and the women listen intently for 30 minutes.

It’s a scene being replicated in villages across Malawi, where large groups of farmers listen to Farm Radio to learn more about improving their agricultural practices and bringing their produce to market.

Smallholders here are struggling with numerous challenges, from climate change to food shortages, and accessing information is problematic.

However, in this land-locked country in Africa, radio is proving to be a vital educational tool for farmers. Newspapers are still a luxury for many, literacy levels are low, and access to internet is almost non-existent in rural communities.

Part-funded by Irish Aid, Farm Radio Trust in Malawi helps community stations broadcast agricultural programmes. The charity also facilitates listener clubs and provides the groups with radios.

Listener club

Matilda Guetsa is the lead farmer in the Chipwatu Listener Club and she safeguards the radio, along with a phone which receives text questions from Farm Radio. She also facilitates discussions among the group, where the farmers learn how to put the broadcasts into practice.

Like many women in Malawi, she is responsible for the day-to-day running of the family farm. Maize, corn, rice, soya beans, groundnut and sweet potato are the main crops grown by most farmers in her community, but climate change is having a serious impact on yields.

“We face many problems, but lack of information is the main issue,” she says. “We’ve learned a lot about agriculture through the radio programme and how to improve our yields through improved planting. We hope that things will improve in the future.”

Nkhotakota Community Radio Station broadcasts to Chipwatu and other villages in the region. Presenters carry out research by visiting the farmers and asking what they want to hear, from composting to utilising forestry. They then work with agricultural advisers to create a series of specialised programmes.

John Kisebe Mpakani is an award-winning journalist with the station and has seen the difference his broadcasts are making in the lives of farmers across Malawi.

“Farmers had to walk miles to meet an adviser for advice,” he explains. “The radio show makes their lives much easier. We ask the farmers what they want to hear from us, but they need to adopt the practices we are talking about. We are also helping listeners to bring their produce to market and see their farm as a business.”

The listener club model is intrinsic to the success of Farm Radio, adds John.

“We want the community to own the programme. They give us their feedback and we take it on board.”

It’s been a testing year for Malawian farmers, with 80% of the population engaged in agriculture. Though there was a drought for most of the year, severe flooding hit the south of the country in January. The destroyed crops were washed away, with around 64,000 hectares of land destroyed and nearly 230,000 people displaced.

Meanwhile, agricultural output is making front page news. Around 4m tonnes of maize, the country’s staple crop, was produced in the country last year and is down by around 1m tonnes – this will result in massive shortage across Malawi. Farmers are contending with poor soil, with NGOs encouraging the adoption of conservation agriculture (no-till) systems.

In addition to their work with farmers, the Farm Radio broadcasters also address issues such as HIV/AIDS, nutrition, mental health and gender imbalance – all taboo in the deeply conservative country.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and almost half of the country is living in poverty. Rising above subsistence farming will be a challenge, but it is the only way that people living in rural communities can improve their lives.

Speaking from the charity’s offices in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe, Rex Chapota, executive director of Farm Radio, is confident the charity will change the lives of those living in rural communities.

“One of the biggest challenges is access to information on how to turn their agricultural fortunes, especially with a lack of extension workers on the ground,” he said. “This gap is filled by extension services through the power of radio.”

He hopes to continue improving the work of Farm Radio, by introducing podcasts and rolling out Wi-Fi to the community stations broadcasting Farm Radio programmes.

“We want to continue to lead the provision of advisory services, we want to ensure that no farmer fails to make a right decision because of lack of information.”

Aisling Hussey travelled to Malawi with the support of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.

NEXT WEEK:

Being a female farmer in Malawi.