IICA radio program, AgroEnlace, cements its role as a valuable information resource for small farmers in the Americas during the pandemic
San Jose, 16 December 2020 (IICA). AgroEnlace, a radio program of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) cemented its role as a bridge to facilitate experience-sharing among small- and medium-scale farmers of the Americas in 2020 – a year of mounting challenges in the sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some of the topics covered during this 15th anniversary year of the educational radio magazine program, which IICA launched in 2005, were measures implemented in some countries of the region to maintain the flow of agricultural trade and guarantee food security in the midst of the health crisis; protocols for the application of biosafety measures on farms; the role of rural youth in the post-pandemic era; and the role that agricultural cooperatives play in overcoming the social and economic impact of the emergency.
In 2020, AgriEnlace registered more than 1,150 new subscribers on the different digital platforms, where it can be accessed, such as via e-mail (913 new subscribers, bringing the total to 2,962), Spotify (175) and WhatsApp (71). The two latter platforms were introduced this year as part of initiatives to widen the dissemination of information during this 15th anniversary year.
On the web, viewers can access all the programs in the 15 year-history of the show at this link (the page has garnered 3,619 visits). On SoundCloud, according to the platform’s statistics, the programs were re-aired by 928 stations globally, downloaded 1, 072 times and re-aired on 8,837 occasions, in 50 countries of the world, most notably, in Uruguay, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, the United States, Ecuador, Mexico and Argentina.
Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, stressed the dual nature of Agroenlace —formative and informative—as well as its meticulous execution, artistic production values, and well-crafted structure, which ensures that each edition attracts public interest in a variety of countries with varying demands.
“AgroEnlace is IICA’s public communication standard-bearer: a technically rigorous program that presents relevant issues in an educational way. Its format is also novel and cutting edge. Listening to it is easy and enjoyable”, said Otero.
SoundCloud statistics indicate that since 2012, the IICA radio program has been rebroadcast by 2,055 radio stations, boasting 42,270 rebroadcasts and 21,175 downloads.
In 2018, the program was recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Ecuador, for its novel didactic approach that allows agricultural producers to access information that is relevant to the development of their activities.
Via Whatsapp, listener, Susana Ruggeiro of Argentina, said, “Congratulations IICA on this series of educational programs; they play a key role in contributing to this important task of education, throughout Latin America. The variety and content of the testimonials is extremely valuable”.
Another listener, Óscar Raúl González, of El Salvador, commented that, “I thank you for your efforts to make this show a reality, disseminating this vital information to every corner of the Americas. This program is extremely important to me as an agronomy student”.
“I am an admirer of the program and am always grateful for the work that you do for rural areas and agriculture”, agreed David Pulido of Colombia.
If you wish to register to receive the program, you can do so at http://contacts.iica.int/contact/register or via WhatsApp at +506 8908 9226. You may also listen to the program on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/32p1SrY), SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/iicanoticias) and on the IICA website (https://iica.int/en/press/agro-enlace).
More information:
Institutional Communication Division, IICA.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int