CAMLINK Radio Gets Zoom Recorder from FRI Board Member

Helen Ayamba, camlink radio, Email: camlink99@gmail.com

CAMLINK Radio received a Zoom Recorder donated by FRI Board Member, Jacqueline Toupin to support the work realized within an on-going strategic partnership.. The donation was made during a courtesy visit to the FRI Cameroon Focal Point in Bonaberi-Douala tofind out for herself the impact of Farm Radio services to the Cameroon rural populations, and especially smallholder farmers. She discussed possibilities of a joint venture for capacity building of staff of the Central Africa Community Radio Network (RERAC) coordinated by Eva Mouzong from Yaoundé and rural radio stations serving the indigenous pygmy communities in the east region of Cameroon.. She reminded the Farm Radio Media Broadcast Liaison officer, Cooh Odette Behn that she should fully engage and inform farmers through radio and ICTs like the Farm Radio regional offices in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mali. She added that with funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), Farm Radio is directly implementing and evaluating a variety of innovative approaches in the above countries.

Addressing coordinators of RERAC and the Model Forest Project, Jacqueline Toupin said, consistent with the commitment to empower smallholder farmers to achieve their farming and food security dreams, Farm Radio can offer agriculture initiatives that pay through communicating with them. FRI Cameroon was encouraged to continue to promote participatory radio campaigns (PRC) during its field monitoring exercises. PRC is a planned radio based activity conducted over a specific period of time, between four to 6 months, during which a broad population of farmers is encouraged to make an informed decision about adopting a specific improvement selected by their pairs, based on the best available information, to improve food security of the farmers’ families. The Farm Radio Board member shared information on the 75 ways to fix a farmer program and agriculture radio that works. Handing over the Zoom Recorder, she said, there is no doubt that Cameroon Link understands the importance of voice quality and that the tool will facilitate the work and expand Farm Radio achievements in Cameroon in the interest of smallholder farmers. From Cameroon Link, Jacquie travelled to Kribi in the south of Cameroon to visit Beach FM. The visit to encourage FRI Cameroon Link partnership efforts was appreciated by the entire team of the organisation.