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HowcommunityradioishelpingsmallholderscopewiththeclimateinWesternKenya

ByIsaiahEsipisu

At11O’clockinEssong’olovillageintheheartofVihigaCounty,400kilometreswestofKenya’scapitalNairobi,PhilemonEchokasitsunderamangotreetolistentohisfavoriteweeklyradioprogramme–‘farminginthefaceofclimatechange.’HeincreasesthevolumeofhisyellowcolouredsolarpoweredFMradioasMosesOmbogo,thebroadcasteratAnyoleRadiointroduceshisguest-JaphethMangaAmutete–inalocalLuhyadialectcalledOlunyole.Andonthisparticularmorning,thesubjectofdiscussionis‘aquacultureasamethodofadaptingtoclimatechange.’AnyoleRadio,runbytheNganyiRANETCommunityRadioStationinWesternKenyaisoneoffivecommunityradiostationsestablishedbytheKenyaMeteorologicalDepartment(KMD)indifferentpartsofthecountrypronetodifferentclimatestressestohelplocalsunderstandtheprevailingclimateandweatherpatternssoastodevelopresilience.TheNganyicommunitymembersarerenownedrainmakersinVihigaCounty.Theirtraditionalmethodsofweatherforecastshavesinceattractedtheattentionofinternationalresearchers,whohaveconcludedthatblendingtraditionalweatherpredictionswithmodernsciencemayprovideamoreaccurateforecast.ItisbasedonthiskindofknowledgethatAnyoleRadiowaslaunchedonMarch23,2015todisseminateweatherandclimateinformationacrosstheentireVihigaCountyandintheneighbouringcountiesofKakamega,Busia,BungomaandKisumucounties.ButbeforethediscussionbeginsonthisdayonOmbogo’sprogramme,theannouncertakestimetoreadouttheweatherforecastfortheweek,revealingthatdespiteofitbeinglate,thelongrainfallseasonwilldelayevenfurther,andthatfarmersmuststartusingclimatesmarttechniquestoadapttothechangingclimaticconditions.


“ThatisoneofthereasonswhywehaveAmuteteinthestudiotoday,todiscusshowsmallholderfarmerscanstartupfishfarmingprojectsforextraincomegeneration,”announcesOmbogousingtheOlunyoledialect.“Thisprogrammehasalwaysbeenablessingtome,”saidEchoka,whoownsatwo-acrepieceoflandinVihigaandanotherofthesamesizeinNangiliinKakamegaCounty,stillinthewesternpartofthecountry.Generally,thecommunityradiostationwastargetedtoreachoutto250,000membersoftheAbanyolecommunity,butwithitsinfiltrationtoneighbouringcounties,itendsupservingtensofthousandsmorewhocanunderstandthelocaldialect.ThedialectcanbeunderstoodbynearlyallLuhyaspeakingindividuals.WithintheentireLuhyacommunityKakamegahas1,660,651people,secondtoNairobiwith3,138,369,Bungoma(1,374,477),Busia(743,946)andVihiga(554,622)asperthecountry’slastroundofcensus.SofarinhisfarminKakamega,Echokaistakingadvantageofthedryspelltomakemoneyasotherfarmerskeepstaringattheazureblueskies,prayingfortheheavenstoopenfortheelusiverainstocomedown.“Frommysavings,Iboughta6,000-litreportablewatertanktrailer,andforsure,havingsuchequipmentistheeasiestwayofmakingmoneyatatimewheneveryoneiscomplainingofthedryspell,”hesaid.AspeopleinKakamegawaitfortherainstocome,othershavebeenusingEchoka’sportablewatertanktrailertofetchwaterforirrigationespeciallyforvegetablegardens,whileothersusethesametofetchwaterforconstructionamongotheruses,earningthefarmerupto$100(Sh10,000)perweek.“Ichargebetweento$30-40(Sh3000andSh4000)persinglesupplydependingonthedistancefromtheriver,”saidEchoka.ThisisoneoftheideasthatthefarmerlearnedfromAnyoleradioafewyearsago,duringadiscussiononhowpeoplecantakeadvantageofthetoughclimaticconditionstogenerateincome.“Forme,thedroughtisablessingindisguise.Butwhenitstartsraining,Iwilldowhateveryonedoes;plantcrops,”saidEchoka.


Toothers,especiallytheelderlypeople,theprevailingclimaticconditionsaresomethingcompletelynewtothem.“Ihaveneverexperiencedwhatthecountryisgoingthroughtoday,”saidMatthiasWanzala,89years-oldfromMungakhavillage,MatunguinKakamega.“SinceIwasasmallboy,themonthofAprilwasalwaysamonthforrainfall,”hesaid.Onthisday’sprogrammeonAnyoleRadio,Amuteteistalkingaboutfishfarming,howtoconstructagoodfishpond,thehygienicstandards,howtomakefishfeedsfromlocallyavailableresources,andhowtokeeppredatorsawayfromthefishponds.Butatthesametime,heisfacedwithtoughquestionsfromlistenerswhoarecallingin,andtheywanttoknowiffishdiseasesexist,howtoknowthatfishissick,andhowsickfisharetreated.OnhisfarminEbulongavillageinVihigaCounty,the56year-oldretiredcivilservantkeeps10,000tilapiaandcatfishfingerlingsineightfishpondsthatusewaterfromanearbywaterspringcalledWamanga.“Ihavealreadyharvestedfivetimesandinthenexttwomonths,twoofmypondswillbereadyforharvesting,”saidAmutete.HenowdreamsofkeepingtheNilePerch,afreshwatercarnivorousfishspeciesthatgrowsveryfast,andcouldbeidealforquickincomegeneration.“IamstilldoingmyfeasibilitystudytoseeifNilePerchcanthriveonthisfarm,”hesaid.Throughtrialanderroranduseoftraditionalknowledge,theretiredgovernmentofficerhasperfectedtheaquacultureskill,andhehasbeensharingtheknowledgethroughthecommunityradioprogrammes.“Wheneverwearediscussingsuchatopic,peoplecallinandsomeofthecallershappentobeexpertsinthisparticularfield.So,Ialsogettolearnalotfromthem,”saidthefarmerduringaninterviewnexttohisfishpondsinEbulongavillage.AttheNganyiRANETCommunityRadioStation,theKMDhasalreadybuiltandequippedaresourcecentretogetherwithalibrary,aclimateinformationcentre,


andacommunitycomputercentre,allwithsupportfromtheIntergovernmentalAuthorityonDevelopment(IGAD),aneight-countryAfricantradebloc.AccordingtoDrByronAnangweoftheRegionalCentreforMappingofResourcesforDevelopment(RCMRD),havingaccurateweatherforecastisextremelyimportant,butitbecomesmeaninglessifitisnotavailedtothepeoplewhoneedit.“Communitiescanonlyadapttotheprevailingclimaticconditionsonlyiftheyhaveaccesstoreal-timeweatherforecasting,long-termdroughtpredictiontools,andadvancedwatermonitoringsystemsamongotherusefulhydrometservices,”saidAnangwe.AccordingtoDrJamesMurombedzi,theOfficerinChargeattheAfricaClimatePolicyCentre(ACPC)“Africa’seconomiesaredependentonclimatechange-relatedfieldslikeagricultureandneedrelevantandtimelyclimateinformationservicesthatcanbetranslatedintodecision-makingtoolstobudgetforclimatedisruptions,”hetoldPAMACCNewsduringaClimateInformationServices(CIS)workshopinAddisAbaba,Ethiopia.Throughthe2014AfricaAgricultureStatusReport(AASR)theAllianceforaGreenRevolutioninAfrica(AGRA)underscoresthatrapidanduncertainchangesinprecipitationandtemperaturepatternsinsub-SaharanAfricathreatenfoodproductionandincreasethevulnerabilityofsmallholderfarmers,whichcanresultinfoodpriceshocksandincreasedruralpoverty.“Manytimeswehaveincurredlossesduetodelayedrainfallseasons,orsometimeswhentherainscometooearlywhenwearenotreadyforplanting,”saidEstherOtingafromEbusiratsiinVihiga.Themotherofthreeschoolgoingchildrenrecallsthelossessheincurredwhensheplantedbasedontraditionalknowledgein2011.“SinceIwasachild,thelongrainseasonalwaysbegunbetweenthe23rdand25thofMarcheveryyear,andsoon25ththatyear,therewereallsignsofrainfall,andIplantedmaizeontheentirefouracrepieceofland,andanothertwoacrepieceelsewhereinanticipationthatitwouldrainanytime,”shesaid.


Buttwoweekslater,therewasnorainfall.Sheendeduplosingtheseed,thefertilizer,andthemoneyshehadusedtopaysixcasuallabourerswhohadhelpedherintheexercise.Sincethen,shehasbeenakeenfollowerofweatherforecastsandadvisoriesthroughlocalandcommunitymediasoastomakeinformeddecisionsonherfarm.“IthankGodthatseveralFMstationshaveemerged,andthroughthemwegettolearnabouttheprevailingweatherandclimaticconditions,”saidOtinga.ENDS.