Roots podcast debuts for rural communities - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The Independent Office of Evaluation of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has launched 'Roots', a podcast created to disseminate the voice of rural workers in their own communities and in the world, reports NaijaAgroNet.

From Peru to Niger, Belize or Nepal, each month "Roots" will present a new episode sharing the experience of beneficiaries of IFAD supported and evaluated development projects in different regions.

The podcast will be available for free on the website of the Independent Office of Evaluation and may be used by radio stations throughout the world to be included in their schedule of programmes. 

"This podcast is intended to share with rural communities the human stories living behind each effort made to reduce poverty and promote sustainability of economic activities in rural areas," Oscar A. García, director of the Office Independent Evaluation of IFAD, said.

"Roots" is the first communication product created specifically for beneficiaries of programs evaluated by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD.

"Roots is an opportunity to learn and to allow rural communities to observe what is working well, what it is not, why, and what needs to be improved to promote a sustainable and inclusive rural development", García underlined.

The podcasts will be produced in the language of each visited country and will have a maximum length of four minutes to facilitate its use by radio stations.

In the two first episodes, "Roots" will visit: The Department of San Martin, in Peru's High Rainforest and the Toledo District and Stann Creek, in Belize  and in Peru. 

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Mahama advocates roots, tubers solution to end food insecurity

Anthony Nwakaegho/NaijaAgroNet

Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama has advocated the use of roots and tubers to alleviate poverty and end food insecurity in the rural Africa.

Mahama who was represented by Ghana Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology Innovation, Mohammed Alfa,  gave the charge at the 12^th symposium organized by the International Society for Tropical Root Crops-Africa Branch (ISTRC-AB) in Accra, Ghana and stressed that root and tuber crops such as sweet potato, cassava, potato(Irish) Andean roots and tubers, yams and aroids provide great opportunities for long term poverty alleviation and food security, more than any staple food produced in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions.

NaijaAgroNet learnt from the President that the growth rate of the population in Sub-Sahara Africa which was put at 2.4 per cent as compared to 1.3 per cent in non African countries had brought pressure on farmers to produce food at affordable prices.

He explained that even though root crops were vital for both food security and income generation, especially, for poor rural farmers and women, and often grown on marginal lands, production was mainly for home consumption and the local market.

NaijaAgroNet noted the submission of President Mahama when he said that efforts by the private sector to commercialise these crops had been minimal and ineffective and added that “the challenge had been how to commercialise and improve the competiveness of root and tuber crop products in the markets, whilst safeguarding the interest of women and small-holder farmers who derived significant incomes through the production and processing of thes,e crops.

The ISTRC-AB President, Dr Nzola Mahungu, who is also the Country Representative for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in DR Congo said, “Root and tuber crops play an important role in ensuring food security in Africa, and we must tap the opportunities of these crops.” 

NaijaAgroNet

... Linking agrobiz, people & technology
pix:Ghana President, John Dramani Mahama