December 12, 2016 – Bryan McGarvey has received a grant from the US State Department to assist in establishing Africa’s first 24-hour agricultural focused radio station. A thirty-year radio, and eight-year veteran of agricultural radio and NAFB (National Association of Farm Broadcasting) member.
McGarvey was a mentor for the Mandela Washington Fellowship International Reciprocal Exchange Program, part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in 2016 in conjunction with Purdue University. Through the YALI, McGarvey met Dalliso Chitundu, of Lusaka, Zambia, an aspiring broadcast entrepreneur paired with McGarvey for his agricultural broadcasting expertise. Mr. Chitundu was inspired to build a 24-hour agricultural radio station by a lack of assistance to local farmers. Currently, there is only one farm extension officer to every 1,000 farmers. McGarvey will assist Chitundu to increase farmer’s access to up-to-date agricultural information.
Chitundu and McGarvey built a rapport that extended well beyond the course of YALI and as a result, Chitundu requested McGarvey’s help on the ground in Africa. With assistance from the US State Department, McGarvey will travel in late January/early February 2017 and will meet with the Zambia National Farmers Union, National Agriculture Information Services, Ministry of Agriculture and development aid agencies SNV, USAID, SIDA and IFAD to assist in building the station, Agricom Media and Marketing Ltd.. He will also visit three villages in Nyimba and Petauke to meet with local farmers.
Said McGarvey of this opportunity, “I am moved and honored by this opportunity to truly help a community half-way around the world by sharing my knowledge and experience with Agricultural Broadcasting.”
Neuhoff CEO, Beth Neuhoff, said of the announcement, “we are extraordinarily proud of Bryan and the work he is doing to better our world. To think his passion for agricultural broadcasting can be life-changing; creating nourishment and economic growth for a developing nation, is truly awe-inspiring. It represents the best of what radio can do.”
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More about Young African Leaders Initiative, or YALI…
- Launched in 2014, theMandela Washington Fellowship is YALI’s flagship program. It brings up to 1,000 African civic, business and community leaders aged 25–35 for six weeks of academic coursework, leadership training and networking at U.S. universities.
- Through the 250,000-memberYALI Network, young Africans can connect with other leaders in their community, access free online courses in topics ranging from climate change to entrepreneurship to human rights, and receive invitations to special events.
- The fourYALI Regional Leadership Centers — in Kenya, South Africa, Senegal and Ghana — train young leaders in leadership, entrepreneurship and professional development. They also provide a great place to network.
Neuhoff Media is a privately held broadcast and digital media company with a focus on Midwestern markets.
For more information, press only:
Bryan McGarvey
bryanmcgarvey@neuhoffmedia.com
3575 McCarty Lane
Lafayette, IN 47905
(765) 447-2186
Beth Neuhoff
561-53-4743
For more information on Neuhoff Communications:
www.neuhoffmedia.com
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