Radio Overview

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This Farmers’ Voice Radio project aims to connect ginger and hibiscus growers with the information and knowledge they need to improve their agricultural practices, crop quality and marketing, alongside empowering women producers and strengthening the resilience of rural livelihoods across Northern Nigeria. The project also aims to build understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing smallholder ginger and hibiscus farmers in these three states and improve transparency of the supply chains that they are connected to. 

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Nigeria is one of the top global producers of ginger and hibiscus. It is estimated that 60,000 smallholder farmers grow ginger and 500,000 smallholder farmers grow hibiscus in the Northern States of Nigeria.  Nigeria is an important origin to Twinings for both ginger and hibiscus as ingredients for their teas. This concept note responds to a request from Twinings following a Community Needs Assessments in Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa states that showed a range of challenges faced by farmers. These included: 

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• Under-representation of women in the commercialisation of both crops. 

• Poor access to information and training on good agricultural practices. 

• Poor soil fertility and water retention, and limited knowledge and use of practices to improve this. 

• Low and volatile farm gate prices, a lack of market knowledge and supply chain transparency and limited value addition. 

• Over-dependence on one crop for income.

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Radio is a highly effective medium for reaching rural communities in Nigeria. Data by The US Agency for Global Media indicates that most Nigerian households have a working radio (83.4%) and three quarters of Nigerians say they listened to the radio in the past week (78.4%). Hausa speakers, the dominant language in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states, are even more likely to have done so (86.6%).

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Farmer’s Voice Radio is therefore an appropriate intervention to reach large numbers of ginger and hibiscus growers across the three target states with information and knowledge about good agricultural practices, while at the same time taking advantage of its participatory nature to learn more about the situation of these farmers.

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The Farmers’ Voice Radio Training and Planning Workshop was attended by six farmers from each state (who will become Programme Reference Group members), representatives from the three radio stations, technical experts in the ginger and hibiscus sector and Solidaridad staff. Together they agreed the following objectives for the radio programmes: 

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1. Farmers are able to understand and implement good agricultural practices that will improve the yield and quality of ginger and hibiscus production.

2. Farmers are able to understand and use climate friendly practices that will improve yield and income while conserving the environment.

3. Farmers have a better understanding of the conflict between farmers and herders and possible peaceful resolution.

4. Farmers have improved understanding of and capacity in basic financial and business management concepts and tools.

5. Farmers have a greater knowledge and understanding of the structure and functioning of the hibiscus and ginger markets.

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Over the course of the project, at least 24 individual radio programmes featuring the voices of ginger and hibiscus farmers will be aired twice (i.e. 48 broadcasts in total) in the Hausa language on three local radio stations (that broadcast in all three states), reaching a potential listenership of more than six million people. 

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A mobile phone number will be broadcast at the end of each episode, inviting questions and comments from listeners, which will be incorporated into future episodes. The audios will also be published on a dedicated YouTube channel and shared on Facebook, where listeners will also be able to submit feedback.