Family farming policies and programmes, including Rural communication services (RCS), are vital in strengthening the participatory communication capacities among farmer organizations and rural institutions and giving family farmers the capacity needed for sustainability. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in collaboration with YenKasa Africa held a regional forum on Rural Communication Services for family farming in Africa on 30th June 2022. The UN Decade for Family Farming (UNDFF) called for Rural Communication Services (RCS) to be part of family farming policies and programmes and to be delivered sustainably.
As part of the UNDFF, YenKasa Africa implements a Participatory Communication Plan (PCP) along the following lines of work: Awareness raising on participatory communication and related outreach; enhancing farmers’ organizations’ communication capacities and promoting Rural Communication Services. This regional forum was held in fulfilment of these lines of work.
The forum participants spanned various organisations, community media, communication practitioners, rural institutions, and development agencies across Africa. The forum aimed to engage key stakeholders in discussing trends, experiences and appropriation of media and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for family farming. It also intended to promote Rural Communication Services in the region as part of the UNDFF process. With evidence of lessons learned, conclusions and recommendations for advancing RCS in Africa, the forum shared findings of the regional study on Rural Communication Services to promote mechanisms for policy dialogue, knowledge sharing and future partnerships.
