FARM 98.0 FM: The vocal gateway to agricultural information

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of 80% of the 4.5 million people inhabiting the remote communities and villages of Imo State, a rural state in south-eastern Nigeria. However, agricultural extension services which should support farming have collapsed, due to the unavailability of input materials needed to support this service. The outcome is that smallholder farmers lack access to reliable market information and advanced farming techniques, and use outdated techniques that turn out small volumes of products. 

Today thanks to the efforts of Nnaemeka C. Ikegwuonu and FARM 98.0 Radio, the farmers have a precious resource. FARM 98.0 FM designs and broadcasts daily agricultural, environmental management and market information in the local Igbo language to 250,000 small farmer listeners living in 3 remote and isolated local government areas of Imo State. 

FARM 98.0 broadcasts 10 hours a day, sharing contemporary agricultural and environmental management techniques, daily market information, advertises farm products and imparts critical business skills. Smallholder farmers use the daily broadcast programme to decide what to produce, when to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce in order to boost their yields and income.

In this interview Ikegwuonu shares how and why he decided to set up this valuable service for smallholder farmers and tells us about his passion for agriculture.

Entrepreneurs beyond borders #gyin

On Wednesday 12 October, some of the participants of the Youth Conference - Agents of Change visited the pineapple agro-processing facilities of Dieu Donne Alladjodjo, located about 60 kilometres north of Cotonou. We had a rather eventful trip, as half-way to our destination, our convey had an accident.

Thank God, no one was seriously injured. We duly followed all UN security procedures, informed both IFAD and UN security officers. With their respective blessings - and as they say in this part of the world - all protocols observed -  we continued our trip to the world of pineapple processing!

Benin goes proud of its pineapples, as they are  deemed one of the best in the world. In 1998, the annual production was approximately 100 million tonnes. However, the planters were unable to exploit this gold mine because they did not have access to regional and international markets, nor in a position to improve the quality of their products.
This is why a decade or so ago, the pineapple planters got together to explore how they could exploit this great asset and increase their income, improve their livelihoods and provide a better life for their families and communities. As a result, they embarked on a successful processing journey.

Alladjodjo entered into processing business when was 19 years old.  Today he runs a successful business which gives employment to 307 people of which 80% are women and has a total annual income of CFA200 million. The plant is equipped with the “en norme” equipment meeting international standards, and has the capacity to process up to 80 tonnes of pineapple a day.

“We buy traditional and organic pineapples from individual farmers, farmer associations and cooperatives operating in Mono, Zou, Ouémé and Atlantique region”, explainedAlladjodjo. “When we embarked on this journey we realized that while the pineapple industry was a gold mine, however, we were faced with the challenge of having access to good inputs, thus being able to produce good quality final product.”

That is how they engaged with the IFAD-funded Rural Economic Growth Support Project which helped them get access to good inputs such as fertilizer and built their capacity to develop rural agro-based micro and small enterprises.

Today, Alladjodjo sells canned pineapple juice wholesale at local, national and regional level. "I sell 3000 boxes of pineapple juice for a total of CFA15,000,000", explains Alladjodjo,



This young man’s story inspired and flared the entrepreneur spirit of the young Africans, Latin Americans, Egyptian, Syrian and Yemeni participants in the group who saw Alladjodjo experience as  great import-export opportunity. It was amazing to see how business cards were exchanged and hear the questions and clarifications about import-export legal framework.

Ebtesam saw a new business opportunity for her grocery store and  Mohamed, our fashion designer, seriously started considering entering into pineapple import-export business.

What we witnessed on this hot and humid day in Allada was visionary entrepreneurs connecting with and learning from each other.  Definitely, this field trip is the beginning of many future global business opportunities.


Let’s hope next time you are in Yemen or Syria you'll be able to drink Alladjodjo’s pineapple juice and that let's hope that Alladjodjo's achievements inspire many more young entrepreneurs and help improve many more lives.

Ça c’est l’Afrique: The backstory #gyin

Young entrepreneurs from around the world have gathered in Cotonou, Benin to share knowledge and learn from each other’s experiences for a four-day event titled “Youth Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change.


Yesterday Canal 3, a private TV in Benin approached us and asked to interview Mohamed Beavougi, the director of West and Central Africa. We agreed to meet at the TV station at 7pm and to go on air live at 7:30pm.

We got there on time, met the journalist, got settled in the studio, did a test run and were all set to go. And three minutes before going on air, something does not work and a piece of equipment breaks!

The technician starts running around, goes out, comes back with some cables. It is now 7:29.... and the technician is still running around. What was most incredible is that no one panicked. It is now 7:32 and the journalist is casually chit chatting with Mohamed and says: “We have a technical problem, I am afraid we cannot go on air until we resolve the problem.”

I leave the studio and go to the adjacent room, where I find the technician literary inside the equipment. The room is dark, and I see the technicians using their cellphones as flash lights. I stood there in awe, looking at how these gentlemen solved the problem and fixed the broken equipment.

Twenty-three minutes later, we managed to go on air live. When the technician came back in the studio, he looked at us and said: “Ça c’est l’Afrique”.

I challenge all the high-tech and well-equipped TV studios around the world to solve the technical problems the way their African colleagues did!

And here is Mohamed’s interview.

P.S. Wonder what CNN's Michael Holmes has to say about this BackStory :)

Using astronomy and animals, voices to predict rainfall: A Maasai practice #gyin #sfrome

There is growing recognition that indigenous peoples are affected by the economic, social and environmental impact of climate change and that their traditional knowledge may be critical for effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Mosses Ndiyaine from Tanzania, who was both at last month's Share Fair and now in Cotonou for the Young People Conference- Agents of Change, tells us how the Maasai use indigenous knowledge and astronomy to predict rainfall and adapt to climate change.

Meet Ebtesam Abdullah Saad - a young Yemeni lady and an agent of change #gyin

Ebtesam Abdullah Saad, is 22 years old. She lives in Tihamah, 100 kilometres away from San’a in Yemen.

She has travelled to Cotonou in Benin to take part at the Youth conference - Agents of change to share her experience and to learn what other young people in different countries are doing and how they are overcoming their challenges and working to reach their aspirations.

She is an amazing young woman. Saad not only is a farmer, but also runs a successful grocery shop, is the chairperson of the savings groups, runs literacy and family planning classes for her community.

“I go proud of my various activities. I have a grocery store which I run together with my mother and my other siblings. I have two hectares farm land where I grow potatoes, tomatoes, sorghum and different types of vegetables”, explains Saad.

Saad’s farm land produces 15 tonnes of potatoes and 1.5 tonnes of tomatoes annually and she can count on an annual income of 600,000 Rials. Saad - a savvy farmer - knows that for her farm to have a good yield and be able to have a secure income, she needs to invest in seeds and fertilizers. “And this is precisely why I spend 60% of my income on inputs and to buy fuel for the generator which we use for irrigation”, says Saad.

Another feather in Saad’s hat is the savings group she chairs. “You know, it is impossible for women to have access to credit, so what we did, is to get organized and we set up our own savings group”, says a proud Saad.

“The group started in 2008 and today has 31 members - all women. So far we’ve given out 64 loans for a total of 845,000 Rials”.

This women’s savings group gives out loans ranging from 15,000 to 180,000 Rials and requires no guarantee or collateral. And guess what, to date, everyone has completely repaid their loans. Yet another example that women are credit worthy! One would hope that credit and financial institutions will finally open their doors to credit worthy women!

“I am looking forward to sharing my experience, challenges and aspirations with the other young people at this event these stories and show them that women can be self-sufficient and independent, that women are credit worthy, that women are as good, if not better entrepreneurs and business people”, remarks Saad.

Saad is learning English and aspires to have the local women’s savings group recognized at national level. She is a role model within her community and seeks to build the capacity of as many women as possible and empower them to take their lives in their hands.

“I hope that by the time I have my second child, at least 70% of the women in my community have an income generating activity and can stand on their feet”, says the four-month pregnant Saad.

And we can only keep our fingers crossed and wish Saad and the courageous ladies of her community the best of luck!

Let’s keep the Share Fair - #sfrome - spirit alive

Last night I had dinner with the organizers of the Global Youth Innovation Network and while eating, I could see their minds racing like an F1 car, thinking of all the things that needed to do, all those details that they needed to take care of. It reminded me of our state of mind two weeks ago as we were finalizing the preparations of the Second Global AgriKnowledge Share Fair.

Organizing the Share Fair was a nine-month affair and our friend and UNDP colleague, Johannes Schunter, in his blogpost “What does it take to make the Share Fair happen? Don’t ask ‘what’, ask ‘who’! ", eloquently summarized the essence of what and who it takes to organize a share fair.

I can tell you that this nine-month affair meant many long days, many working weekends, many vacation days dedicated to organizing the share fair, many new bonds and friendships, many moments of joy, happiness and laughter and infinite satisfaction.

From the outset we committed to make the Share Fair an “out-of-the-box”, memorable and outward looking event. From the feedback we’ve received and are receiving, it looks like we managed to fulfill this commitment.

So who is this royal WE? The WE are the 690 participants, the 160 presenters, the army of social reporters, the many facilitators, the “share fair angels” - the volunteers, all those who worked behind the scenes and the Share Fair steering committee.

WE should go proud of orchestrating such a memorable event. And for our IFAD colleagues, as someone said, this was IFAD at is best. We should all go proud of this achievement - indeed a feather in IFAD’s hat.

I would add that this was knowledge sharing and breaking silos at its best as the share fair gave everyone an opportunity to learn from the knowledge and innovations of colleagues from the private sector, public sector agencies, NGOs, academics, think tanks, bilateral, multilateral and UN agencies.

For four days, the participants and the presenters created a special buzz and energy. For four days we saw lots of happy and smiling people. For four days we saw many people connecting, sharing and learning. For four days we saw IFAD meeting rooms packed with people.

For four days we saw people conducting meetings in alternative, creative and innovative ways. For four days we explored new ways of documenting and recording meetings - be it through graphic recording, via Twitter, blogs, videos, Facebook and pictures.

For four days we experienced first hand the power and potential of social media. For four days the Twitter wall took centre stage and kept everyone in the building abreast of what was going on in the numerous parallel session. For four days we did not see many suits and ties. For four days we benefitted from the wisdom and insights of four avant-garde thought leaders. In essence for four days we witnessed a unique metamorphosis. And WE LOVED it.

Thanks to the Share Fair’s remarkable social media presence the event went beyond the walls of IFAD and reached approximately 2.4 million people. 4500 people watched the various webcast and participated in the conversation and debate through social media channels. And we got the best questions came via Twitter and Facebook.

As one of the quotes on the Share Fair panels said: “Knowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.” The challenge now is to implement the many stimulating ideas we picked during the Share Fair and keep the spirit and vibrant buzz of the Share Fair alive. Recently I came across a quote from B. Fuller which really resonated with the Share Fair spirit and it goes: "You can't change anything by fighting or resisting it. You change something by making it obsolete through superior methods".

I hope WE can commit to put to practice the Share Fair “superior methods”.

Let’s commit to conduct our meetings differently, let’s commit to take advantage of the power and potential of social media.

Dare I say, let’s commit to take meeting minutes via Twitter and Storify them. Dare I say let’s commit to invite alternative keynote speakers such as Rob Burnet, Mark Davies, Etienne Wenger, Michele Payn-Knoper to IFAD-sponsored events. Dare I say let’s commit to change behaviours.

Let’s keep the Share Fair flame alive. Let's dare to do things differently!  Here comes the Share Fair revolution..... Let's overthrow status quo!!!

#gyin: Global Youth Innovation Network a platform for young women entrepreneurs to shine and advance their business

From 10-13 October 2011, IFAD together with Phelps Stokes Fund and in collaboration with the Government of Benin, Songhai Centre, Palmares Fundação cultural, Fundación Activos Culturales Afro (ACUA) and the GIVE 1 Project is holding a four-day event for young entrepreneurs - agents of change.

This morning, I met Nabiha Farrag - one of the many participants of this event. Farrang is a young Egyptian entrepreneur who runs a handicraft workshop in Asyut, south of Cairo.

"I am coming to this event to share what I am doing with a wider audience. I see this as a business opportunity to show case my products and to advance my activity", says Farrag.

Farrag started her handicraft business inspired by her father's work. After working with him for 15 years, four years ago she spread her wings and set up her own workshop. Her biggest challenge was and continues to be access to credit.

"To set up my workshop, I got an initial loan of EGP3000 and after I showed that I was credit-worthy I managed to get an extra EGP5000."

Farrang's monthly income is just enough to make ends meet. To really take the workshop  but to really take the workshop to scale, she needs approximately EGP20,000 to buy additional equipment and quality raw material.


Farrag hopes that this event will give her a platform to share her experience, to make new contacts, to show case her products, to manage to mobilize resources so that she can further advance her business.

"I will have a stand during the event and sincerely hope that when people see the workshop's products, the orders will start pouring in. One of my aspirations and goals from this event is to be able to sell my products and make enough money to buy the additional equipment I need for the workshop", explains Farrang.

Farrang although married is practically a single mother. "I am coming to this event with lots of hope. It was a great sacrifice to leave behind my four year old son. I sincerely hope that I get a lot from this event", tell me Farrang.

And we all hope that on Friday when she leaves, she leaves rich in heart, in soul, in knowledge and as they say in French rich in "sous". We should not forget that  investing in women and young girls is the pathway to stability and growth. This is why it is important to empower women, because by doing so, we make sure that the entire community thrives.