Farm Radio International

About Farm Radio International:

Founded in 1979, Farm Radio International (FRI) fights poverty and food insecurity in Africa. The charity works with radio partners across sub-Saharan Africa to share effective farming practices with farmers. Farm Radio International reports that across Africa, 2% of farmers have landline access, 3% have internet access, and 18% have mobile phones. In contrast, 76% of farmers have radio set access, making radio an effective way to share farming practices.

Farm Radio International runs three major programs to help African farmers improve their farming practices: Impact Programming, Broadcaster Training and Broadcaster Resources. Farm Radio International reports working with more than 640 radio partners in 39 countries in F2016, including working directly with 118 partner radio stations in 9 countries.

Impact programming (Radio Projects) made up 37% of program costs in F2016. FRI works with radio broadcast organizations to make radio an extension tool in Africa, where farmers can learn about farming research findings, affordable, effective and sustainable ways to eliminate weeds, pests and diseases, climate change adaptation strategies, new crop varieties, and more. FRI also believes radio can be used by farmers to voice their needs, experiences, and perspectives to policy makers and program planners. The charity’s impact projects deliver special radio campaigns and programs that relate to specific development challenges. FRI reports running 35 impact projects in F2016. In Malawi and Tanzania, the Positive Mood and Nkhawa Njee impact projects for improved mental health reached over 500,000 youth in 2016, and 90% of listeners demonstrated improved mental health knowledge, attitudes and health-seeking behaviors. In Malawi, kids who listened to the radio program were 3.5 times more likely to get help for mental health issues than those who never listened. In Tanzania, listeners were 3.7 times more likely to do so. Published in the Journal of Education and Training Studies is a one-year impact and outcome report on the school's mental health literacy curriculum resource in Tanzania. Key outcomes include an increase or strong increase in knowledge about mental health and illness in 100% of students reached, as well as an improvement or strong improvement in attitudes towards people with mental illness in 100% of students reached by the program.

Broadcaster resources made up 14% of program costs in F2016. Farm Radio International offers broadcaster resources to African broadcasters, who can produce and present relevant radio programs. Resources offered by the charity are meant to help broadcasters give high-quality radio programs. Broadcaster training made up 5% of program costs in F2016. FRI gives direct, in-station training to its clients. This training program gives radio stations and their staff tools to measure the quality of their farm radio services and identify what must be done to improve them.

Farm Radio International states that 40% to 60% of potential listeners listen to one of its typical interactive radio programs about agriculture, which leads to 20% of listeners applying new, more productive practices on their farms. FRI also estimates that it costs about $1 (CAD) for each farmer that applies a better practice on their farms because of listening to a FRI-supported educational radio series.

A radio campaign Farm Radio International ran from 2012 to 2015 addressed vitamin A deficiency in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda by promoting the production and consumption of sweet potatoes. Based on an in-house evaluation done in July 2016, the campaign reached over 3.5 million people. Farm Radio reports that there are an estimated 432,000 new sweet potato growers and 650,000 new households eating sweet potatoes because of this campaign. 

Financial Review:

Farm Radio International is a big-cap charity with donations of $5.4m in F2016. Administrative costs are 9% of revenues and fundraising costs are 5% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, $0.86 goes to the cause, which falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity’s funding reserves of $1.8m can cover only 36% of annual program costs, indicating a funding need.

Updated on July 7, 2017 by Katie Khodawandi.