Podcasts Help Poor Farmers

You know you've reached the modern age when you find subsistence farmers in Africa comparing notes on their favorite podcasts. If researcher Lawrence Gudza is to be believed, some small farmers in Zimbabwe now know more about this particular form of digital media than my own dad.

For subsistence farmers to improve their lot — becoming, say, commercial smallholders — they need to know the latest thinking on agricultural production, crop and livestock disease control, harvest and storage techniques, and even marketing.

It is hard to get this kind of current data out to remote, rural areas in countries that already lack robust infrastructure. Radio is a widely used medium, and some countries, like Zimbabwe, offer agricultural extension services that usually fall short.

But there's a much better option, if only a few logistical hurdles can be overcome. Podcasts.

A pilot project in Zimbabwe organized by the nonprofit organization Practical Action shows that distributing these little digital media files may well be a viable option. The project took place in the rural area of Mbire, dominated by small agricultural communities and completely lacking in electricity, land-line telephones and cell phone infrastructure.

Government agencies are tasked with getting agriculture information to these communities, which they do via word-of-mouth, brochures or posters carried by agricultural extension officers.

Practical Action worked with government agencies, local communities and other development workers to create 32 local-language podcasts with useful information presented in varied formats.

The project then procured battery-operated MP3 players that could operate for longer than 40 hours, enough run-time for 2,800 people to listen. The players were placed in mobile "knowledge libraries" open to everyone and are loaned out with two sets of rechargeable batteries that a local NGO replaces once every two weeks.

The project benefited the communities in Mbire. Agricultural production improved; milk production, for example, has shot up from 0.5 liters to two liters per cow per day. Farmers are also managing their livestock better and increasing their crop varieties and productivity.

Now if I could only get my Dad into the 21st century!

Photo: UN Photo/Milton Grant