FVR listener club moves from listening to action
Kathuiria Poverty Reduction Group, a Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) Listener Club based in the Central
Province of Kenya, has enthusiastically followed FVR broadcasts on Coro FM since they first heard them.
Members of the group have taken up the challenge of putting FVR radio agricultural information into
practice. For example, FVR programs on upland growing of arrowroot, a popular staple food in the
region that traditionally grows in marshy grounds, have inspired a number of the group members to
adopt this new practice.
One member of the group, Mr. Zablon Kimindu, was so inspired by a program on fish farming that he
has developed a small fish pond on his one-acre piece of land. “After listening to a successful fish farmer
from Sagana talk about the benefit he has derived from fish farming on radio, I realized that the
government was not the only source of agricultural information and that farmers could learn from one
another,” says Mr. Kimindu. After the broadcast, Mr. Kimindu obtained the telephone number of the
fish farmer from the radio station and made arrangements to visit him. “I came to know about
ornamental fish whose market is apparently very huge both locally and internationally,” he reports.
Using the few resources at his disposal, and
improvising with locally available material,
Mr. Kimindu is determined to succeed in a
venture that only a few years ago would
have been shunned by many farmers in a
region that traditionally does not consume
fish.
Mr. Kimindu’s determination and
enthusiasm has been contagious. Peers in his
neighborhood have enquired about fish
farming and he freely shares what he has
learnt with them. Three farmers are in the
process of developing their own fish ponds
as a result.
Mr. Kimindu’s fingerling fish pond