See me, read me, surf me
That amazing newspaper The Farmer s Voice has taken another confident leap forward and is now available online on the World Wide Web at the moment in French only, but soon in English. It is the best-known, but by no means only, service provided by the Cameroon-based NGO Service d appui aux initiatives locales de développement (SAILD; Support service for local development initiatives). SAILD also has a high reputation for its useful technical handbooks, its reliable question-and-answer service and its wide range of field support activities with farmers groups across the country, from disseminating market price information to establishing tree nurseries. The monthly newspaper is now in its 15th year of publication. With its rich content of informative articles on all aspects of agriculture and rural life, not only has it become a household name amongst farmers and farmers organisations in Cameroon and neighbouring countries, but it has also won the respect of development organisations and agricultural media professionals worldwide. Its straightforward tone, resolute and no-nonsense, often takes bureaucracies of whatever level or sector to task if their activities are getting in the way of farmers getting on with their lives. Over the years, not a few extension services, price boards and input suppliers have been encouraged by The Farmer s Voice to improve their service. But it is not only a campaigning force; each issue is stuffed with practical tips for the field and the workshop, with guidelines for drawing up business plans or marketing strategies, even at the most modest level, as well as a lively readers section, background articles and dossiers, profiles of plants, animals and organisations, book reviews and more. Until August 2002, The Farmer s Voice was available only in print, in several editions the French edition for Cameroon and Chad (circulation 20,000), the English edition, read mainly in Cameroon (6,000) and the two Arabic editions for Chad and the western Sahel region (5,000 and 10,000, respectively). The high quality of the Website edition attests to the dedication and skill of the editorial team. It has embarked not just on publishing the latest edition online, but also on opening up the archives of earlier issues. At the moment the French edition of the newspaper, La Voix du Paysan, is online (www.lavoixdupaysan.net). Work is underway to put the English edition online too, and it will be announced soon in Spore. Everything on the site is accessible free-of-charge and is clearly presented in thematic sections, with a large choice of articles just a click away. Even SAILD s famous cartoons have been included. All in all, a thoroughly professional approach which will no doubt inspire similar newspapers and bulletins in other countries to follow in SAILD s electronic footsteps, just as they have with their printed products. The printed edition of The Farmer s Voice is available on a year s subscription of FCFA 6,000 (9.25) in Cameroon and FCFA 13,000 (t 20) elsewhere in Africa. Prices for other regions are available on request. Service d appui aux initiatives locales de développement BP 11955, Yaoundé, Cameroon Fax: + 237 222 5162 Email: saild@camnet.cm Website: www.lavoixdupaysan.net
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2002
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/47715 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99605 |
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