SUSTAINABLE UTILIZATION OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES

 

Sometime mid-February this year, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa in partnership with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation held a training workshop for anglophone journalists and scientists on communicating research to policy makers in particular,agricultural research. There we learnt how natural resources and also available resources can sustainably be used to address food security, nutritional and poverty issues.





 

Journalists and scientists from East, West and Southern Africa went on field training at a community radio station in Ghana called radio Arda, and here they are seen listening attentively to a testimony on how the community radio station was started and its objective. The station which broadcasts in local languages was started by someone as a way of giving back to his community to help them adapt to the climatic conditions of their area and boost agricultural productivity as well as keep them updated about topical issues.

 

 

Radio Arda Editor briefs us on how they broadcast as we listen on and take down notes. It was very interesting to note that mostly, they do their bulletins in the local language basing it on community stories and the main bulletin at night captures all national stories not forgetting to note that the news crew works on a voluntary basis for the benefit of their community.

Journalists being briefed on some of the challenges the station faces in their operations which range from staff turnover in search of greener pastures, funding since they can not advertise alcohol and tobacco products due to the Christian background hence most of their funding comes from death announcements and orbituaries which generate little money to sustain operations.

Journalists and scientists go to the farms on a fact finding mission to estabish how the community is beneffitng from radio Arda programmes and news articles in terms of improving agricultural productivity and access to information on topical issues.

Emilia asks a question on how the farming community adapts to the agro-ecological conditions of their area in light of producing in the sandy soils.

 

Journalists and scientists listen to the testimonies by farmers and extension officers on how they are working together to improve agricultural production to ensure food security as well as the important role Radio Arda is playing in informing them of crop diseases outbreak, pests and advice on how to control them as well as initiatives being undertaken to help farmers.

The testimonies continue and farmers take us through the paces on how they started to grow onions, tomatoes, maize and okra in the sandy soils.

 

Behind me is vast lands under onion, okra and tomato production which farmers say with the help of extension officers manged to make use of the available resources and turn around their fortunes.

 

 

Chatting with some members of the farming community.

 We then took a tour around the water locked nation and there discovered a sea shore where people gather sea shells which they use as necklace pendants and or earrings as part of jewellery, while others use them as ornaments in their houses.

 



Part of the community making good use of the sea species as food and can be seen drawing a caster net out of the white waters which will be full of tilapia, cat fish and bream. When cooked, roasted, fried or grilled, the fish species make good relish which can be taken with rice, yam, cassava or pap.

Since the place is highly humid, the community uses coconut fruit as a cooler, one can cut it in half and drink the some what sweet soime what sour fluid that oozes out of the fruit.

Ghana is endowed with vast tracks of water and land  which the community is sustainably utilizing to ensure food security, eradicate poverty as well as boost agricultural production.
The setting up of a community radio station has enabled the community to improve on productivity as well as keep abreast with all developments in the country not forgetting the understanding of news through production in local languages a sure sign that the community is sustainably using the available resources.