The BBC Media Action has on Wednesday 24th October 2012 officially commissioned Solar Power System and donated studio and broadcast equipment to Eastern Community Radio in Kenema city for implementation of its three years livelihoods project titled “Unblocking the Cocoa Value Chain through informal and formal pathways to learning in eastern Sierra Leone.”
In his opening remarks the chairman of the ceremony who also doubles as the Admin and Finance manager of the Eastern Community Radio says five years ago the station was using fifteen gallons of fuel daily, totalling twenty four million Leones a month. At that time they were not able to broadcast for 24 hours but with the solar power it is now possible to be on air for 24 hours. With the continuous power at the station everything is possible for eastern radio in terms of media work he said.
The Country Director BBC Media Action George Ferguson in his statement said that the BBC Media Action is a development charity of the BBC that informs, educate and entertains its audience in developing countries. He disclosed that the BBC Media Action is operating in 22 countries around the world and 7 countries in Africa including Sierra Leone, with funding from European Commission, GIZ and BBC Media Action. He says the BBC Media Action has a long history of transforming lives around the world through media, adding the radio provides information and opportunities to explore how people can improve their livelihoods.
This project he explained will produce a package of radio programs and interactive discussion programmes, a drama and a series of information news bulletins. He revealed that local drama teams flanked by two international BBC drama trainers are in the field in Kpai and other villages around Kenema recording the first 12 episodes of the drama series. The discussion programme is planned to start at the beginning of November and the Cocoa News Bulletin has been running every week on eastern radio since August this year.
The project is also working with Njala University, SLARI and farmer field schools to deliver cocoa production training modules that will be delivered at farmer field schools in 2013.
To achieve all this and more, BBC Media Action with support from the European Union and GIZ has made massive long term investments in Eastern Radio.
All staff of eastern radio will continue receiving intensive on the station training and mentoring from international and local trainers across a range of production and management skills, including drama and discussion programming production, the development of radio materials to support education delivery and audience research techniques.
In his Keynote address the Acting Project manager, BBC Media Action David Musiime says BBC Media Action is working to contribute to livelihoods and income generation in eastern Sierra Leone through improvement in the quality and quantity of cocoa being produced and exported.
He says the project targets 140,000 actual and potential cocoa farmers and unemployed youth to increase their knowledge and skills in cocoa production and marketing through radio and distance learning programs.
Musiime revealed that between November 2011 and June 2012, BBC Media Action carried out comprehensive formative research that involved literature review, stakeholder in-depth interviews, focus group discussions with cocoa farmers and a quantitative KAP baseline survey of 500 respondents in Kenema, Kono and Kailahun.
He added that the research found out that cocoa farmers face challenges throughout the cocoa production cycle. Many struggle with the amount of labour required to farm cocoa, find it difficult to treat pests and diseases without pesticides and lack understanding on how cocoa prices are established and knowledge on the pricing of their crops.
The research found that many farmers finance their cocoa farming through loans. When it comes to selling, many are forced to sell their produce to lenders to pay back their debts. This prevents many from maximizing their profits thereby perpetuating a debt cycle. He says that cocoa farming is traditionally learnt from family members and other solutions to many of the problems they face.
Cocoa farmers he noted want programming to focus on crop management, business planning and cocoa pricing, which now brings Eastern Radio, and the role Eastern radio is playing in this Project.
By Saffa Moriba
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