Climate-Change Advocacy Leaps into Radio

Jan 28 , 2023

Farmers in Amhara, Oromia, Sidama and Southern Nations regional states will get a five-year radio documentary on climate change. Dubbed Gender Inclusive Natural Based Solutions (NBS) the program is organised by Farm Radio International (FRI). After a year-long study, executives at FRI identified the regional states as the most critical states affected by climate change. The project was launched to create awareness of climate change and pave the way to adaptability in farming.  According to Zelalem Nega, senior country representative, the program starts airing in a month. Close to 200 radio documentaries will be produced that showcase local nature-based solutions and interactive radio programs that will support African countries in bringing nature-based solutions to their communities. Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia have also been selected for this program by Global Affairs Canada for the project with a 10.9 million dollar budget. FRI is working with National Advisory Panel members, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ethiopia Environment Protection Agency, and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, on the program's content, result and guidance. The stations will work with FRI to design, produce and broadcast three series for a year, expected to reach close to 3.2 million listeners. Each series will last from four to six weeks, with a total of thousand of programs aired over the course of the project. Farm Radio International, established in 1979, is an NGO based in Ottowa and works with broadcasting, project, and knowledge partners, with 1,300 radio stations in African countries signed up as broadcast partners.