Roots, The Podcast of Rural Communities

Welcome to Roots, the Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) podcast for rural communities. Personal stories of people who participate in IFAD-funded projects evaluated independently allow us to stop, reflect and see what is working well, what is not, why, and what needs to be corrected. Beneficiaries' voices are references to improve projects intended to promote an inclusive and sustainable rural development. IOE listens to these voices and disseminates them through Roots, a podcast produced for a broader audience to share knowledge and learning amongst rural communities around the world. Roots travels with evaluators to IFAD-supported projects that help to change the lives of rural people and communities, bringing you a new voice from a different place on our planet once a month. IOE invites radio broadcasters to use our podcasts in their schedules of programmes. Learn more at: www.ifad.org/evaluation

Episodes

Roots in Surkhet, Nepal - Increasing agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers

September 24, 2020 • 4 mins

Turmeric and ginger have many health benefits and have been consumed for thousands of years. Both spices are high-value crops, and come from the part of the plant called the rhizome, a stem that grows underground. In this episode, Roots visited the Agriculture Sector Development Programme in Surkhet, Nepal. Over the past decades, IFAD operations have helped increase the productivity of small farms here by focusing on improved prod...

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Roots in Kordofan and Sinnar, Sudan – Improving women’s access to financial services and markets

March 16, 2020 • 3 mins

Sudan has faced substantial changes in recent years. With important human, oil and land resources lost, growth has faltered, and poverty and undernourishment have worsened. The main challenges for rural livelihoods are low agricultural and livestock productivity, erratic climate conditions, inadequate water availability, and limited access to markets and financial services. In this episode, Roots spoke with Um Durein and Thaya Al...

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Roots In Palapye, Botswana - Building a Sustainable Agriculture Sector

February 18, 2020 • 5 mins

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa with one of the world’s fastest growing economies; however, following the global economic downturn in 2008, there is concern over the long-term sustainability of resources. In this episode, Roots visited the Agriculture Services Support Project in Palapye, which aimed to contribute to economic diversification by achieving a sustainable agriculture sector based on farming as a bu...

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Roots in Tungurahua and Bolivar, Ecuador – Production and sale of cereal, fruits and vegetables

December 9, 2019 • 4 mins

In rural Ecuador, agricultural communities work collectively to produce food for their families and to increase household income. Good food production requires infrastructure and knowledge that families not always have. In this episode, Roots spoke with Gladis Fabiola Alcedo, a woman farmer who started an organization for egg production in Tungurahua, and with Angelita Morejón Chaves, a housewife who received training and now ru...

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Roots in Sierra Leone - Rehabilitation and Community-Based Poverty Reduction Project

November 6, 2019 • 4 mins

Sierra Leone is one of the most vulnerable countries hit by the adverse effects of climate change. The change in weather patterns, reflected by fluctuating levels of rainfall, has a hugely negative impact on agriculture, which is the only source of income for thousands of farmers in Sierra Leone. In this episode, Roots visited the Rehabilitation and Community-Based Poverty Reduction Project in Koinadugu District, which helped to r...

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Roots expert series - Inclusive financial services

September 25, 2019 • 7 mins

Access to financial services is an important component of the inclusive rural transformation agenda for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Since 1981, IFAD has financed over 1000 investment projects, worth US$ 3.4 billion. Roots spoke with Johanna Pennarz, Lead Evaluator of the Independent Office of Evaluation and Michael Hamp, Lead Regional Technical Specialist Rural Finance, Markets and Enterprises, A...

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Roots expert series - Evaluating support to pro-poor value chain development

September 16, 2019 • 4 mins

Roots expert series - Evaluating support to pro-poor value chain development by IFAD Independent Office of Evaluation

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Roots in Maradi, Niger – Impact evaluation of the Food Security and Development Support Project

August 29, 2019 • 7 mins

Roots in Maradi, Niger – Impact evaluation of the Food Security and Development Support Project by IFAD Independent Office of Evaluation

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Roots in Cayo, Belize – Supporting rural people through financial services

July 16, 2019 • 2 mins

Roots in Cayo, Belize – Supporting rural people through financial services by IFAD Independent Office of Evaluation

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Roots in Kalawana and Ratanpura, Sri Lanka – Supporting business opportunities in agriculture

May 30, 2019 • 4 mins

Roots in Kalawana and Ratanpura, Sri Lanka – Supporting business opportunities in agriculture by IFAD Independent Office of Evaluation

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Roots in Zacatecas, Mexico – Medicinal plants

April 17, 2019 • 3 mins

Medicinal plants have been used for millennia across the world to heal all kinds of diseases. Today medical sciences have made great progress due to these plants. Fortunately, they have not replaced traditional medicine, which is still being practiced for the benefit of a great number of people. In the state of Zacatecas, in Mexico, Sanjuana López and other women from the community of San Jerónimo expand their knowledge on herbal m...

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Roots' interview on country strategy and programme evaluation in Tunisia

March 11, 2019 • 4 mins

Over the last 15 years, Tunisia has made great progress in reducing rural poverty. IFAD has been working in partnership with the Government since 1980 to improve the living conditions of rural populations. This month, Roots spoke with Philippe Remy, Country Programme Manager of IFAD in Tunisia, and with Ali Abaab and Diane Abi Khalil, two evaluators who worked on the second country strategy and programme evaluation in Tunisia, carr...

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Roots in Kalikot and Rukum, Nepal – Credit-based cooperatives' support to rural populations

February 13, 2019 • 4 mins

Roots in Kalikot and Rukum, Nepal – Credit-based cooperatives' support to rural populations Nepal is a landlocked country with a rich diversity of ethnicities and cultures and home to Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. In this episode Roots visited the Western Uplands Poverty Alleviation Project in the Mid-Western Region of Nepal and spoke with beneficiaries about the changes the project has brought in their lives....

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Roots in Ferké and Nahoulakaha, Côte d’Ivoire – Agricultural productivity

February 1, 2019 • 3 mins

Koné lives in the small village of Ferké in the North-East of Côte d'Ivoire and is Vice-President of an agricultural association. At the time of the creation of the association, he encountered financial difficulties to support his agricultural activities. Now his financial situation is stable and has allowed him to increase his production and obtain better harvests thanks to higher quality rice seeds, cassava and yam roots. The f...

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Roots in Cohauila, Mexico – The production of Candelilla

January 10, 2019 • 3 mins

Sandra and Isidra live in the state of Coahuila, in northern Mexico. The economy of this area mainly relies on the production of Candelilla, a plant that lives in the desert and finds its main use in the production of wax and cosmetics. In this episode, Roots visited with the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD the "Sustainable development project for rural communities in semi-arid zones: (Northern and Mixtec Regions) PRODEZS...

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Roots' interview on evaluation synthesis on fisheries

December 14, 2018 • 3 mins

Fisheries and aquaculture are extremely relevant to IFAD's mandate, as fish and other sea products are essential for a balanced diet. The sector employs 190 million people in the world, of whom 90 per cent are small-scale fishers and producers. This month, Roots spoke with Tullia Aiazzi, IOE senior consultant and author of an evaluation synthesis on IFAD projects' support to fisheries, which draws information from evaluations betw...

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Roots in Nakuru, Kenya – Dairy farming

November 28, 2018 • 3 mins

David Kamgoro, a father of six, is a dairy farmer who lives in Nakuru County in Kenya. He found in dairy farming a stable source of income, which has even allowed him to pay school fees for his children. Over 800,000 small farmers in Kenya depend on dairy farming for their livelihoods. Since 2006, IFAD has been working with small dairy farmers to strengthen their understanding of the production process and improve their organizati...

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Roots in Namasigüe, Honduras – Cashew production

October 3, 2018 • 3 mins

Les noix de cajou sont très populaires dans le monde entier pour leur valeur nutritive et leur goût délicieux. À Namasigüe, au Honduras, María de los Santos Muñoz dirige une coopérative de femmes qui traite la pulpe et les graines de ce fruit tropical pour exporter le produit vers l’Europe et l’Amérique centrale. Ces dernières années, ils ont acheté des machines qui ont amélioré leurs revenus et leurs conditions de vie. Certains d'...

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Roots in Toledo and Stann Creek, Belize - Financial services

August 31, 2018 • 3 mins

Hilaria Choco est devenue membre d´une caisse d´épargne et crédit afin que sa famille puisse avoir de l'électricité. Hilaria vit à Aguacate, une ville isolée du district de Toledo. Ses enfants profitent de l'électricité pour étudier et faire leurs devoirs. À environ 160 kilomètres, à Dandriga, Jeneve Pratt élève des moutons et bénéficie des services d’une autre caisse. À cette occasion, Racines a visité le Programme financier pou...

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Roots in Peru's High Rainforest – Rural communities

August 23, 2018 • 4 mins

Elsa Vargas de Del Castillo produit de la farine de banane plantain dans la haute forêt tropicale du Pérou. Non loin d'elle, dans cette même région de San Martín, Nancy Guerrero éleve des cobayes. Ces activités leur ont permis d’améliorer leur revenu familial et leur vie. Dans son premier épisode, Racines a visité avec le Bureau d'évaluation indépendant certaines initiatives du Projet de renforcement du développement local dans le...

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Roots, The Podcast of Rural Communities

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Roots in Surkhet, Nepal - Increasing agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Roots in Kordofan and Sinnar, Sudan – Improving women’s access to financial services and markets

Roots In Palapye, Botswana - Building a Sustainable Agriculture Sector

Roots in Tungurahua and Bolivar, Ecuador – Production and sale of cereal, fruits and vegetables

Roots in Sierra Leone - Rehabilitation and Community-Based Poverty Reduction Project

Roots expert series - Inclusive financial services

Roots expert series - Evaluating support to pro-poor value chain development

Roots in Maradi, Niger – Impact evaluation of the Food Security and Development Support Project

Roots in Cayo, Belize – Supporting rural people through financial services

Roots in Kalawana and Ratanpura, Sri Lanka – Supporting business opportunities in agriculture

Roots in Zacatecas, Mexico – Medicinal plants

Roots' interview on country strategy and programme evaluation in Tunisia

Roots in Kalikot and Rukum, Nepal – Credit-based cooperatives' support to rural populations

Roots in Ferké and Nahoulakaha, Côte d’Ivoire – Agricultural productivity

Roots in Cohauila, Mexico – The production of Candelilla

Roots' interview on evaluation synthesis on fisheries

Roots in Nakuru, Kenya – Dairy farming

Roots in Namasigüe, Honduras – Cashew production

Roots in Toledo and Stann Creek, Belize - Financial services

Roots in Peru's High Rainforest – Rural communities

Popular Podcasts

Roots in Surkhet, Nepal - Increasing agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers

Roots in Kordofan and Sinnar, Sudan – Improving women’s access to financial services and markets