Harvesting Voices: Empowering Agriculture Through Community Radio in Bhola, Bangladesh

The study was conducted among peasant farmers in Bangladesh’s island district of Bhola. This southern section of Bengal is Bangladesh’s largest island and one of the most disaster-prone places, bordered by the Meghna River and the South Bay of Bengal. Nearly 98% of the island’s peasant farmers must be enrolled, and 60% must learn to read and write. A few farmers can be identified. On February 18, 2015, the Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (Coast Trust) established Radio Meghna in response to the need for a community-based radio station that would broadcast in the local dialect. This study discovered considerable efficiencies despite a significant distance between community radio and the oldest peasant farmers over the age of fifty. Only 2% of farmers over fifty heard Radio Meghna; others did not because they needed to purchase a radio and learn how to use it with a cell phone. However, approximately 85% of peasant farmers aged 15 to 50 recognized the name Radio, whereas only 30% listened to agricultural programs broadcast by Radio Meghna. Radio Meghna becomes a capital hub for information when the power goes out during a natural disaster.