FARMERS' VOICE RADIO FOR SUSTAINABLE SMALLHOLDER AGRIBUSINESS IN LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA
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Vhembe District
Limpopo Province, South Africa
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Partners:
Agricre (Pty) Ltd, Rainforest Alliance and Phalaphala FM
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Project Funder:
Rainforest Alliance
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When:
06/2023 to 06/2024
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Target Audience:
Women and men smallholder farmers of subtropical crops in Vhembe, Limpopo
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Radio Programme:
'Dzomo La Vhalimi’ or ‘Farmers’ Voice’ on Phalaphala FM
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Project Summary:
Limpopo province covers 12.46 million hectares and is one of the poorest in South Africa. The province faces the triple challenge of unemployment, inequality and poverty – this despite agriculture being identified as a key economic pillar for development, currently contributing three percent to the economy and employing ten percent of the population. The Vhembe district municipality has a population of 1.4 million people, the majority of whom work in the agricultural sector. Up to 56 percent of households live below the lowest poverty line and 11.5 per cent experience ‘multidimensionally poverty’ related to health, education, living standards and economic activity – the second highest level in South Africa. There are about 7,500 child-headed households and 51 per cent of households in the region.
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Climate change and food insecurity are major challenges faced by smallholder farmers in the region, with prolonged droughts stressing crop production and diminishing productivity of agricultural lands in subsistence farming areas. Smallholders are disadvantaged by a lack of access to physical infrastructure, market intelligence, and land. It has been estimated that there are 3,034 commercial farming units and 303,000 smallholder farmers in the Limpopo Province (Statistics South Africa, 2020). There are many reasons for the low levels of marketing of smallholder agricultural produce, with lack of access to market information being one of the major constraints facing smallholder farmers in rural areas. High levels of illiteracy (60 percent) and poor access to extension agents and agricultural services in the region have been noted in several studies as contributing to smallholders’ ability to market produce and understand climate information.
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Rainforest Alliance works with certified farmers in the region, who produce amongst other things avocados, macadamia and coffee. Following successful pilot Farmers’ Voice Radio projects in Uganda and Ethiopia, Rainforest Alliance partnered again with the Lorna Young Foundation and local agricultural consulting, extension and training company Agricre (Pty) Ltd to develop and broadcast a FVR programme targeting emerging smallholder farmers in Limpopo.
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‘Dzomo La Vhalimi’, or ‘The Farmers’ Voice’ in the local Tshivenda language, featured the voices of 12 emerging smallholder farmers of crops such as avocado, macadamia, banana, mango and litchi, who met monthly with Dr Thiofhi Muthikhitha of Agricre (Pty) Ltd and other relevant experts to record discussions on four different topics. These recordings were edited by Phalaphala FM into 25-minute episodes and broadcast weekly on Friday mornings at 4.30am – a prime listening time when farmers are at home preparing for a day in the fields. There was also a special episode on the last Wednesday of each month dedicated to answering listener questions from the previous four weeks. A YouTube channel allowed followers to listen again to any episode, as well as to view photo and video footage of the recordings.
The overall aim of the programme was to improve smallholder farmers’ access to and engagement in knowledge related to commercialisation and food security, in order to strengthen the sustainability and wellbeing of farming communities in Vhembe District, Limpopo. The specific objectives were:
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To develop sound technical skills of farmers in production, processing and marketing of the subtropical products (including banana, mango, avocado, macadamia and lychee).
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To improve farmers’ financial literacy, sources of finances and ability to meet application requirements/ criteria.
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To encourage farmers’ cooperation and engagement with government, private sector and other stakeholders.
A final evaluation study showed that the radio programme enabled knowledge transfer on both farming and business practices, increased market access, and supported cooperation and stronger relationships with business and local government for Vhembe’s smallholder subtropical fruit farmers. In addition, by intentionally raising the voices of women farmers, the programme also tackled gender-related gaps in practice and market access and succeeded in empowering some female participants and listeners to realise greater gains in their farming.​
Nevondo Lutendo is a smallholder farmer growing litchis and avocados. She was a member of the 12-strong Programme Reference Group who meet monthly to record content for the Dzomo La Vhalimi radio programme.
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In the final episode, Nevondo shared reflections on her involvement in the series: "For me, the biggest impact has been understanding the importance of networking. Through this program, I’ve connected with buyers, suppliers, and other farmers who are now a part of my support system. I’ve learned that farming isn’t just about what happens in the field; it’s also about building strong relationships in the industry.”."