Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia

The ICARDA pilot radio project, launched in 2023, aimed to address knowledge gaps among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia by providing structured and contextually tailored content on livestock management, specifically focusing on sheep fattening. Leveraging the wide reach of mass communication via rad...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zeleke, Muluken, Wamatu, Jane, Abiso, Tesfaye, Haile, Aynalem
Formato: Informe técnico
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169107
_version_ 1855540209101307904
author Zeleke, Muluken
Wamatu, Jane
Abiso, Tesfaye
Haile, Aynalem
author_browse Abiso, Tesfaye
Haile, Aynalem
Wamatu, Jane
Zeleke, Muluken
author_facet Zeleke, Muluken
Wamatu, Jane
Abiso, Tesfaye
Haile, Aynalem
author_sort Zeleke, Muluken
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The ICARDA pilot radio project, launched in 2023, aimed to address knowledge gaps among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia by providing structured and contextually tailored content on livestock management, specifically focusing on sheep fattening. Leveraging the wide reach of mass communication via radio, the project aimed to broadcast programs promoting improved livestock production technologies in five local languages across culturally diverse regions in Central Ethiopia, thus ensuring improved comprehension and outreach to rural and marginalized populations who may not speak or understand dominant languages. A mid-term evaluation revealed that despite increased knowledge and higher mid-term household incomes - 4.7 times the baseline - the economic impact on livestock ownership was minimal due to short-term constraints and barriers to social learning. Challenges such as lack of working capital and space for rearing livestock hindered youth and women from adopting technologies; thus, knowledge-sharing declined by 8%. After the midterm evaluation, the project introduced “listening groups” of farmers that received structured support through reminders and incentives to listen to the broadcasts and facilitated group discussions around barriers and challenges to adopting practices disseminated via the radio broadcasts. An endline survey conducted in November 2024 assessed the effectiveness of listening groups, revealing significant impacts on farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices. 91% of participating farmers who listened to the radio broadcasts reported improved feed practices, while 90.7% and 90% noted better management and income enhancement benefits, respectively. Other notable gains included entrepreneurship development (83.3%) and overall production cost reduction (82.7%). The farmers in listening groups outperformed regular farmers, achieving improvements of 7.0% in feed management knowledge, 6.0% in entrepreneurship, and 5.0% in improved management practices. Facilitating Group Formation with tailored support and continued broadcasts may foster discussions, clarify misunderstandings, and promote shared learning, enhancing the likelihood of technology adoption. Group dynamics can lead to peer influence and social validation, which may motivate individuals to adopt new practices when they observe others in the group doing so.
format Informe técnico
id CGSpace169107
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
publisher Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa
publisherStr Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1691072025-11-11T17:06:32Z Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia Zeleke, Muluken Wamatu, Jane Abiso, Tesfaye Haile, Aynalem livestock production smallholders sheep finishing climate-smart agriculture The ICARDA pilot radio project, launched in 2023, aimed to address knowledge gaps among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia by providing structured and contextually tailored content on livestock management, specifically focusing on sheep fattening. Leveraging the wide reach of mass communication via radio, the project aimed to broadcast programs promoting improved livestock production technologies in five local languages across culturally diverse regions in Central Ethiopia, thus ensuring improved comprehension and outreach to rural and marginalized populations who may not speak or understand dominant languages. A mid-term evaluation revealed that despite increased knowledge and higher mid-term household incomes - 4.7 times the baseline - the economic impact on livestock ownership was minimal due to short-term constraints and barriers to social learning. Challenges such as lack of working capital and space for rearing livestock hindered youth and women from adopting technologies; thus, knowledge-sharing declined by 8%. After the midterm evaluation, the project introduced “listening groups” of farmers that received structured support through reminders and incentives to listen to the broadcasts and facilitated group discussions around barriers and challenges to adopting practices disseminated via the radio broadcasts. An endline survey conducted in November 2024 assessed the effectiveness of listening groups, revealing significant impacts on farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices. 91% of participating farmers who listened to the radio broadcasts reported improved feed practices, while 90.7% and 90% noted better management and income enhancement benefits, respectively. Other notable gains included entrepreneurship development (83.3%) and overall production cost reduction (82.7%). The farmers in listening groups outperformed regular farmers, achieving improvements of 7.0% in feed management knowledge, 6.0% in entrepreneurship, and 5.0% in improved management practices. Facilitating Group Formation with tailored support and continued broadcasts may foster discussions, clarify misunderstandings, and promote shared learning, enhancing the likelihood of technology adoption. Group dynamics can lead to peer influence and social validation, which may motivate individuals to adopt new practices when they observe others in the group doing so. 2024-12 2025-01-15T14:52:21Z 2025-01-15T14:52:21Z Report https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169107 en Open Access application/pdf Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa Zeleke, M., Wamatu, J., Abiso, T., Haile, A. 2024. Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia. AICCRA Report. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA).
spellingShingle livestock production
smallholders
sheep finishing
climate-smart agriculture
Zeleke, Muluken
Wamatu, Jane
Abiso, Tesfaye
Haile, Aynalem
Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia
title Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia
title_full Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia
title_short Radio Communication for the Dissemination of Improved Livestock Production Technologies in Ethiopia
title_sort radio communication for the dissemination of improved livestock production technologies in ethiopia
topic livestock production
smallholders
sheep finishing
climate-smart agriculture
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169107
work_keys_str_mv AT zelekemuluken radiocommunicationforthedisseminationofimprovedlivestockproductiontechnologiesinethiopia
AT wamatujane radiocommunicationforthedisseminationofimprovedlivestockproductiontechnologiesinethiopia
AT abisotesfaye radiocommunicationforthedisseminationofimprovedlivestockproductiontechnologiesinethiopia
AT haileaynalem radiocommunicationforthedisseminationofimprovedlivestockproductiontechnologiesinethiopia