“In the last three years, our knowledge of agricultural innovation has been transformed through training sessions by Sasakawa Radio,” said a farmer in rural Ethiopia.

Sasakawa Radio, is how farmers refer to the Talking Book (TB), which is an on-demand audio device with integrated analytic dashboard platforms to provide extension and advisory services to low-literacy farmers in remote areas.

SAA in partnership with AMPLIO, introduced the TB, which can work as a standalone radio, provides a two-way link that supports the collection of feedback from the community and tracks their usage statistics, enabling SAA to modify its programming in near real-time. To fit to the rural context, the device does not require internet for users to access the information, and is battery-operated.

The pilot started in 2020, when 1,260 (20-30% women) farmers from the Angacha District of the SNNP region and the Ana Sora District of the Oromia region were organized into 42 groups that received TBs with 16 pre-recorded messages on regenerative agriculture, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and market-oriented agriculture. Field monitoring revealed that messages on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) were the most listened to, followed by Harvesting Operation and Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM). Under IPM, lessons on disease, insect pest and weed control and management were the most popular. The Harvesting Operation program refreshes farmers’ skills on the ways of collecting agricultural production without compromising on quality. Under ISFM, farmers continue to gain knowledge on green manuring, composting, liming, intercropping, vertisol management, soil analysis and others.

As of August 2022, 2,498 (728 women) farmers had listened to TB programs. “With Sasakawa Radio, we might need less frequency of extension agents visiting us,” said another farmer. SAA’s promotion of TB has shown the potential of self-learning digital technology in reaching distant rural farmers at scale and delivering information about improved agricultural technologies and practices.

Retrieved from SAA E-Newsletter, issued in May 2023 with Focus on Ethiopia