TV sets, computers and smartphones are hard to find in Sangano,
Malawi, but farmers here are using an age-old mass communication
tool to learn the tricks of their trade: radio. In a country
where the vast majority of the population lives off the land,
scores of smallholders in rural communities tune in to Farm
Radio Malawi to get valuable information and share ideas on how
to improve their yields -- from fertilizing techniques and
cultivation tips to harvesting practices and weather forecasts.
"Most of our farmers ... are illiterate," says Rex Chapota,
executive director at Farm Radio Malawi. "They're not able to
read newspapers or pamphlets or booklets, and even televisions
are not out there in the community. So radio is actually the
only source of critical information to our farmers and
statistics are showing right now that over 60% of the rural
populace at least own a radio." Farm Radio Malawi is one of the
partner stations of Farm Radio International, a non-profit
organization that's been teaming up with