In February 2017, SPRING/Guinea and Farm Radio International (FRI) conducted a radio assessment in support of the USAID-funded Strengthening Market-Led Agriculture Research, Technology, and Education (SMARTE) program. The SPRING/FRI assessment identified opportunities where SMARTE can use radio for social and behavior change communication (SBCC) around nutrition-sensitive agriculture activities. The joint team conducted interviews with 74 key informants from 27 organizations in Conakry, Faranah, and Mamou to assess the feasibility of implementing an effective interactive rural radio strategy for improving maternal and young child nutrition.
SPRING and FRI conducted four focus group discussions with community members in Faranah and Mamou prefectures which focused on individual habits and preferences regarding listening to the radio. Focus groups were also asked about their use of mobile phones for radio and if they would be interested in participating in an interactive radio approach. The team also conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews and site visits with two radio stations in Faranah and three stations in Mamou. The interviews for each station included discussions about the following:
- existing radio production equipment
- hours, days, and range of broadcasting
- human resources (staff, volunteers, etc.)
- specific topics on which the radio team has received training
- topics of radio programs and listeners of each program
- broadcast schedule
- listeners’ radio habits and use of information and communications technology (ICT).
FRI is analyzing results from the assessment and will work with SPRING/Guinea to use the findings to develop recommendations on the most effective program models for community radio in this setting. This will culminate in a roadmap for SMARTE showing how they can use community radio to improve nutrition in Guinea.
This activity was conducted as part of SPRING’s commitment to collaborating with local and international partners to support evidence-based initiatives to improve nutrition globally.