Farm Radio International (FRI), a Canadian based nongovernmental organization is urging corporate Ghana to support radio stations to educate Ghanaian farmers on the best farming practices to have bumper harvests.
FRI says donor partners’ support to some radio stations across the country may end one day and corporate bodies need to channel their resources through sponsorships to support radio programs geared at educating farmers on modern farming practices.
FRI, which receives its major funding from the Government of Canada, has been supporting radio stations in the area of capacity building, and the provision of finance and equipment to carry out farmers programs.
FRI fears that with the donor fatigue in recent times, farmers may lose the opportunity to gain more knowledge about farming.
It is against this backdrop that FRI is now collaborating with the Agricultural Technology Transfer (ATT) Project. The ATT project which is being implemented in Ghana by IFDC with funding from USAID Ghana, focuses on seed technology and integrated soil facility management.
Speaking at the presentation of a desktop computer, recorders and a programmed Samsung tablet to one of the project radio stations in Tamale, North Star, the FRI Programs Coordinator in-charge of the northern region, George Morton reiterated his outfit’s commitment in resourcing media houses to educate farmers on best farming practices.
According to him, most agricultural programs are donor funded and if donor support folds up, it should not end the agricultural programs. FRI, he said, works with five hundred media houses across 38 African countries, including Ghana, in the area of farming.
The Technical Director of the ATT project at IFDC, Musah Taylor believes with proper management of soil, farmers can get a good yield to feed the nation. The project, he said, is expecting to reach out to, at least, one hundred thousand farmers within a year.
The Director of North Star Radio, Haruna Abubakari Sadiq thanked the two agricultural- oriented organizations for their support and assured them that the equipment will be put to good use. He also charged young radio presenters and journalists in the region to show greater interest in agricultural programs.