Farm Radio International

About Farm Radio International:

Founded in 1979, Farm Radio International (FRI) envisions “a world where the work of African farm families brings prosperity and food security to themselves, their communities and their countries.” Its mission is to “support African broadcasters to provide radio services that share knowledge with, and amplify the voices of, small-scale farmers, their families and their communities.” 

Farm Radio International's Programs: FRI uses radio to share farming practices. This is highly effective: FRI reports that in the countries where it works, 76% of farms in these developing countries have access to a radio.

FRI works with 600 radio partners in 38 African countries to plan and deliver special radio campaigns and programs that have a specific impact on a development challenge. Its impact programming makes up 67% of its program spending. FRI’s participatory programs feature beep2vote (listeners call the “yes” or “no” number and immediately hang up), a tool used by broadcasters to learn about how the audience feels about an issue. The project has seen 25,000 farmers share their views through beep2vote polls.

Farm Radio International offers broadcaster resources (representing 25% of spending) to African broadcasters, who can then produce and present relevant and engaging radio programs. In F2015, 592 broadcasters received script packages filled with backgrounders, “broadcaster how-to” guides, and other documents.

Farm Radio International also offers broadcaster training (representing 8% of spending) including direct in-station training, distance education and custom workshops. In F2015, more than 100 people took part in the Farmer program e-course, delivered over 12 weeks. It asks participants to complete assignments on storytelling, connecting with their audience and program planning.

In 2011, Farm Radio International launched its African Rural Radio Program Analysis to ensure that its resources are relevant to broadcasters, and that its programming meets the needs of radio listeners. The report found that 39% of active listeners have started practising improvements learned through its programs. Further, 96% of radio listeners scored at least 60% on a follow-up knowledge quiz about promoted farm practices.

For donors who love stories, here's a link to Farm Radio's founder George Atkin's charming looking back at how Farm Radio began (9 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4FtIFD1EKA&utm_source=Supporters&utm_campaign=e985274b8b-eH1_May_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9b4f67c48-e985274b8b-333487817&mc_cid=e985274b8b&mc_eid=33c418748e

Financial Review:

Farm Radio International is a large charity, with donations of $5.3m in F2015. Its administrative costs are 9% of revenues and its fundraising costs are 4% of donations. For every $1 donated to the charity, 87 cents is put towards its programs, falling within Ci’s reasonable range. Farm Radio International has funding reserves of $767k, resulting in a program cost coverage ratio of 17%. This means that it can cover 2 months of its annual programs using its existing reserves.

This charity report is an update that is being reviewed by Farm Radio International. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 7, 2016 by Lynn Tay.