Lokvani Radio @ 90.4 FM

Contact Person: Dr. Hansa Gami

Broadcasting Language: Gujarati & Hindi

Genesis: Lokvani Radio was established on 4th November 2013 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ambujanagar, Gujarat with a vision to educate the farmers, fishermen, and rural youth, and introduce them to the latest technology in agriculture. The CRS also disseminates knowledge about different agriculture-allied subjects. The mission of Lokvani Radio is to significantly improve the lives of the farmers through its programmes and initiatives, and contribute to the overall development of the community.

Thematic Focus: The primary focus area of Lokvani Radio is agriculture and its allied subjects like agronomy, plant protection, horticulture, Home Science, agriculture extension, agriculture engineering and fisheries programmes.The CRS also focuses on health, education, environment, and women empowerment.

Sustainable Development Goals: Lokvani Radio focuses on improving the standards of living through following these SDGs:

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 14: Life Below Water

SDG 15: Life on Land

Primetime Programmes: The primetime programmes are based on natural farming, agriculture market rate, bi-monthly pest and disease information, importance of soil and water testing, and correct methods of sample collections, and Swachata programme under Swachh Bharat Mission.  The primary focus rests on natural farming programmes like disease & pest management, adopting natural farming practices, different methods of making bio-pesticides & insecticides, and biofertilizer programmes, developed by the experts of KVK. The programmes also feature the stories of successful farmers. 

Innovations in format or any other way: Lokvani Radio conducted a survey to find out the major issues/problems of the farming community and based on the findings, the CRS started developing programmes to address the particular concerns. The CRS has been able to significantly improve the status of farmers in the community. The CRS has been successful in creating awareness regarding organic as well as natural farming.  

Core Team: Radio Lokvani is managed by the staff of KVK, Ambujanagar. The CRS also receives inputs from agricultural experts regarding its programmes. This helps in curating programmes that are suitable for the needs of the local farming community. The local farmers also volunteer and contribute to the different activities of the CRS.

Major Projects Undertaken: KVK CRS collaborated for Factshala  project on identifying fake news propagated through social media platforms. It was a partner in developing the NITARA app for animal rearing programmes. The CRS has executed a project on Vikaspedia through CDAC, Hyderabad. The CRS has also been a part of breastfeeding and nutrition campaigns. 

Sustainable Strategies: The CRS receives technical support from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ambuja Multispeciality Hospital, Ambuja Vidya Niketan School, and financial support from the parent organisation Ambuja Cement Foundation, which is around ninety five percent of the annual expenses. The CRS draws the remaining amount through the means of collaborative projects with leading NGOs and government departments.   

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: The broadcast range of the CRS covers a total of 55 villages that have a total population of nearly 55,000 people. Out of this, the CRS has an active listener base of at least 32,000 listeners. 

Major concerns in the Community: The major needs of the farmers within the community is the need to improve soil health, and promote natural farming and natural resource conservation through the use of biopesticides and biofertilizers, Different techniques like Jivamrut, Bijamrut, Ghanjivamrut, Agniashtra etc. help increase the yield of crops and improves the standard of living of farming communities as well.