Available across all major digital platforms, the radio program has been re-aired by 2,341 radio stations in 50 countries since 2016. It is available for free download on the web, SoundCloud, Spotify and WhatsApp, as well as via email.
San Jose, 21 June 2023 (IICA). AgroEnlace, the radio program of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), is celebrating its 18th anniversary this month, cementing its role as a reference point for communication in the agriculture sector of the Americas. Thanks to its inclusive and didactic approach, the program facilitates the sharing of information and experiences for the benefit of small and medium-scale producers in the hemisphere.
Users can access and listen to the podcast for free on Spotify, WhatsApp, SoundCloud and IICA’s website, as well as via email. AgroEnlace has been airing continuously since it first debuted in June 2005, launching new episodes every other Thursday. Its 380th edition will be released this week.
Since its inception 18 years ago, this educational radio magazine program has sought to boost the participation of small-scale agricultural entrepreneurs in national and international markets, as well as foster inclusive and sustainable rural development.
With the participation of producers and international specialists, the program explores a number of topics that allow for guiding decision making, driving innovation and associative undertakings, and fostering thoughtful analyses of rural realities, different cultures and organizational processes in the region.
“In keeping with the objectives of AgroEnlace, we share topics that contribute to improving productivity and competitiveness, as well as present general concepts that allow for understanding the context for agribusiness”, explained producer Susana Fevrier, who also records the voice-over for the program alongside Luis Diego Solórzano.
“We also foster recognition of the contribution of various segments of the rural population, especially those that are most vulnerable, such as youth, women and ethnic groups”, said Fevrier, who teams up with Rafael Cartín, an IICA technical specialist in audiovisual production, and journalist Isaac Zúñiga, who is responsible for the program’s communication and dissemination activities. The program was launched in 2005 under the leadership of Patricia León, who oversaw IICA’s Social Communication Unit at that time.
Since then, AgroEnlace has become a reference point and a means for drawing closer to producers across the hemisphere. It currently has almost 3,300 subscribers across its digital platforms, including Spotify and WhatsApp, which were introduced in March 2020 as part of initiatives to widen its dissemination.
On the web, where viewers can access all the programs in the 18 year-history of the show, the page has garnered 10,195 visits since 2015. On SoundCloud, the programs have been re-aired by 2,341 radio stations since November 2016.
Over the past seven years, the program has been downloaded 22,633 times and re-aired 44,486 times in 50 countries, most notably in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
“The program shares experiences from across the entire Latin American and Caribbean region. This information is extremely important because, as future agricultural professionals, we will be agents of change. I am grateful to IICA for making all of this possible”, said radio listener Oscar Raul Gonzalez from El Salvador, a student at the National School of Agriculture in that country.
“I follow the program because it promotes sustainable agriculture and livestock farming, and supports cooperative undertakings and organizations among small-scale producers, which enables communities to become self-sustainable”, commented listener Sheila Salaes, from Panama.
Timeline and milestones
Three months after its launch (June 1, 2005), Radio Nederland included AgroEnlace for free on its satellite programming for Latin America, as part of a seven-year partnership. The international broadcaster from the Netherlands aired the program six times a week at various times on its broadcasting schedule.
In August 2018, the Government of Ecuador, via its Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, gave special recognition to AgroEnlace as a medium that contributes to the training of small and medium-scale farmers.
At that time, 56 allied radio stations in the country, most of them community-based, rebroadcast the program due to its content of a high technical and production quality, and with the firm purpose of fostering inclusive and sustainable territorial rural development and increasing the participation of small and medium-scale producers in national markets.
Another listener, Vinicio Ramírez of the Foundation of Peasant Organizations of Salinas (FUNORSAL) of Ecuador, commented, “We listen to the program here at our organization and it’s very interesting. We are applying what we learn in our projects”.
If you wish to register to receive the program, you can do so here, or by sending a WhatsApp message to +506 8908-9226. You may also listen to the program on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/32p1SrY), SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/iicanoticias) or IICA’s website (https://iica.int/es/press/agro-enlace).
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
