Conveying relevant agricultural information: lessons from linking universities and radio stations in

Central MozambiqueNhantumbo, Nascimento1, Ana Gomes1, Albasini Caniço1, Inácio Nhancale2 and Sauzande Jeque3.

1Faculdade de Agricultura, Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica, Campus de Matsinho, Caixa Postal 417, Chimoio, Mozambique, 2 AGRODEC, 3Radio Mozambique (RM), Direcção de Programas da Antena

Nacional

Agricultural Extension Services and its Challenges in conveying relevant information in Mozambique

1. Background – Extension Services in Mozambique

Mozambique agricultural information is delivered through public and private extension networks;

Private networks are dominated by private enterprises and ONG’s targeting specific marketable commodities and SWC practices; The public network is distributed across all provinces, covering 83 of a total of 128 districts with 9-11 extension workers per district;

– In total approximately 900 public extension workers to service 5.2 million smallholder farmers

– Higher ratio extensionist/assisted farmer (a.c.1/5000) and lack of operational means reduces the coverage and effectiveness of public extension services

– What are the alternatives then?

Exploring the main sources of Agri-info in Mozambique?

1.1 Background – Reasoning for our Intervention

Access to communication means – Radio, TV, Mobile phone

1.1 Background – Reasoning for our Intervention

Structure, Coverage, Agricultural Content and Languages

1.1 Background – Reasoning for our Intervention

More agricultural content but limited coverage and poor quality

Less agricultural content but higher coverage

Improving volume and quality of Agricultural content in Radios

2. Our Intervention Approach

How? By linking knowledge institutions and radio stations to:– Joint produce participatory agricultural radio programs to be aired

to the all country;– Creating technical panels of experts composed of lectures,

researchers, extension officers and lead farmers to select, systematize and pack relevant agricultural content to feed radio stations;

– Opening a line where farmers and other actors can canalize their questions and later one get answers on the radio programs;

– Improving the quality of the content in Community radios

3.1 Achievements

3. What have we Achieved and Learned

(1)Since the start of the program in March 2012, a total of 27 PARP produced and broadcasted on National Anthem of RM per season for all country once a week and replicated throughout six RM-Provincial Emissors in year one

(2)Radio listenership has increased from 7.7% to approximately 27.3% as a result of the weekly aired “A VOZ DO EXTENSIONISTA” program and more people found radio as a relevant source of agricultural information;

(3)The SMS based extension program targeting front-line extension workers and individual farmers has been a relevant compliment to the PARP allowing us to directly assist 256 extension workers from the public extension network and working closely 1534 individual famers and lead farmers in 22 farmer organizations in central Mozambique.

3.2 Lessons learned

3. What have we Achieved and Learned

Commitment from radios stations with airing agricultural content and their openness to link with knowledge institutions is crucial to improve the volume and quality of agricultural content in Mozambican radio’s. However, there is still a need to raise awareness mostly at management level of public radio stations to make agricultural content dissemination a flagship of the stations as it happens with politics and sports;

Involving community radios is a major step in tailoring agricultural content to local level because they represent a crucial channel to diversify sources of information especial at district level where people tend to spent more time listening to Community Radios rather than the National.

packaging relevant agricultural information in a pragmatic and ready to use format is required to make SMS based extension approaches appealing to smallholder farmers in Mozambique as they tend to use their mobile phones to communicate with friends and family rather than accessing agricultural information;

Bulking SMS System

4. What next

(1)How to get more farmers with less effort?

(2)Who to link up with to make this happen?

The answer is on establishing smart partnerships with public and private phone companies and we are

pursuing this challenge!...

Thank You