This archive report was first published on 6 August 2020.
Kenya's community radio stations, which have been providing critical weather and climate information to farmers and traders since 2008, are at risk of closing due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Philip Ndegwa, the administrator of the Kangema Radio and Internet (RANET) communications system, the station's normal funding has fallen by about 90% since the start of the pandemic in March.
“We used to raise money through advertising from local traders, banks, hospitals, colleges and schools,” Ndegwa said. “But that is now all gone because of COVID-19.”
As a result, the Kangema station, which is one of four community radio stations in Kenya that provide weather and climate information, is struggling to stay afloat.
“Community radio stations provide real-time content because they interact directly with people facing the pressures of climate change like floods and drought,” said Tom Mboya, coordinator of the Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET).
However, the stations - which also carry news, and educational and entertainment programming - receive limited government funding and now may close if advertising revenue dries up, Mboya said.
Journalists at the Kangema station, like Joyce Wachira, a producer, say the funding threat comes even as their workload is heavier than ever, as the station pumps out coronavirus news and information as well as regular programming.
“I have to leave my family and be at the office before dawn to prepare awareness materials to be aired about COVID-19,” Wachira said.
The Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) helped set up a weather station in Kangema when the radio network began, and analyses data collected on temperature, moisture and wind speed, turning it into local forecasts the radio team can broadcast.
However, Ali Ramtu, senior acting director in charge of aeronautical and meteorological services at KMD, said the information service was at risk unless Kenya’s government can find more money to support it.
One way community radio stations are trying to stay afloat is by broadcasting paid educational messages about the coronavirus produced by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Ndegwa said.
The Kangema station also has received 150,000 Kenyan shillings ($1,400) in grants from the Media Council of Kenya since June, aimed at helping it stay on the air, Ndegwa said.
