{"id":6191,"date":"2020-09-02T23:36:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T23:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=6191"},"modified":"2020-10-08T10:49:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T10:49:33","slug":"fao-launches-radio-training-programmes-to-adapt-to-covid-19-restraints-in-somalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2020\/09\/02\/fao-launches-radio-training-programmes-to-adapt-to-covid-19-restraints-in-somalia\/","title":{"rendered":"FAO launches radio training programmes to adapt to COVID-19 restraints in Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU —<\/strong> In light of the current threat to public health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to prevent the spread of the virus, FAO has launched today a new radio distance learning and extension service that complements its cash and livelihood support, for the most vulnerable farmers, pastoralists and fisherfolks in Somalia.<\/p>\n

This new initiative is part of FAO\u2019s e-Platform for Mobile Money and Livelihood Assistance in Somalia. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t wait for the situation to improve in order to provide this training to the most vulnerable people we serve. Training is an integral part of FAO\u2019s humanitarian assistance in Somalia, which should not only aim to push vulnerable people out of hunger, but also to get them immediately back into production,\u201d said Etienne Peterschmitt, FAO Representative in Somalia.<\/p>\n

Urgent need<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn these times of \u2018triple crisis\u2019 for Somalia, accurate and reliable information can be life-saving. The long-distance radio training programmes will help the targeted communities enhance productivity, thus having an immediate positive effect on food security while mitigating the spread of the coronavirus,\u201d said Ezana Kassa, Coordinator of the FAO Emergency Programme in Somalia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative also comes as an anticipatory measure in case the COVID-19 situation gets worse again and new restrictions and limitations to movement and gathering are put in place throughout a second wave. In that case, we are ready to scale it up in order to fully replace the on-site training by distance learning within a very short timeframe,\u201d added Ezana Kassa.<\/p>\n

Radio programmes are launched in the midst of floods, the\u00a0desert locust\u00a0upsurge and COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when 2.2 million people are expected to experience severe hunger in Somalia through September. \u201cThis number could increase as the dry season progresses,\u201d warns the latest Food Security Outlook update issued by Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit and FEWSNET.<\/p>\n

Leaving no one behind<\/span><\/p>\n

This first long-distance radio training programme involves producing and broadcasting stations across Somalia. Around 30 training episodes will be broadcast all over the country on key topics such as good agricultural practices, livestock, nutrition and fishery, thanks to the generous support of\u00a0USAID,\u00a0Sweden\u00a0and\u00a0Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Somalia, and compared to TV and Internet, radio is the most far-reaching channel of communication to reach out the most remote and rural areas: 98% of the population receive a clear FM signal,\u201d said Francesco Diasio, international Communication for Development expert, involved in the design and implementation of the programme.<\/p>\n

FAO\u2019s radio training programmes will be aired during prime time in local dialects \u201cto enhance the educational role of radio, focusing on livelihood and development issues, and most importantly to ensure that we leave no one behind,\u201d said, Emily D\u2019Addonizio, coordinator of this initiative.<\/p>\n

Radio programmes are part of the capacity development strategy of the FAO programme in Somalia. Enabling access to relevant information for rural people, as well as fostering social dialogue lie at the core of agricultural and rural development initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmallholder and vulnerable rural households need to acquire new information every day, so to face social, economic and environmental challenges. This core function of our programme becomes even more relevant nowadays, hence our efforts to strengthen it,\u201d says Etienne Peterschmitt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main advantage of radio programmes is that the uneducated rural population in those communities will be able to take part in these programmes, which are indeed designed to encourage participation through different communication tools, and in particular through \u201cphone in\u201d to the radio stations and asking direct questions to our experts. It will serve as a platform for FAO to listen to the farmers, pastoralists and fisherfolks. This active mutual listening will help us improve our programme to better serve their needs,\u201d said Ezana Kassa.<\/p>\n

This new batch of radio programmes follows the collaboration of FAO with Radio Ergo in a 9-episode series to sensitize communities affected by desert locust.<\/p>\n

Source: FAO\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Origin: View original<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU — In light of the current threat to public health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to prevent the spread of the virus, FAO has launched today a new radio distance learning and extension service that complements its cash and livelihood support, for the most vulnerable farmers, pastoralists and fisherfolks in Somalia. This new …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-food-security-cluster","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6191"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6609,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6191\/revisions\/6609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}