Kisan Vani CRS @ 90.4 FM

Contact Person: Mr. Jitender Sharma

Broadcasting Language: Hindi and Bundeli 

Genesis: Kisan Vani CRS is for the farmers in the Sironj block of district Vidisha, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the first such CRS set up by an NGO in India for community development under the aegis of ISAP India Foundation.

ISAP India Foundation is a network of agriculture and allied sector professionals. Broadcast from ISAP Community Radio Stations covers the whole gamut of farm-specific useful information, social issues of the community, important announcements from the government departments, information on various schemes of banks or other government departments etc. 

Thematic Focus: The local community benefits from ISAP Kisan Vani services. The broadcast from ISAP Kisan Vani covers the entire gamut of information typically required by farmers such as advisories on plant protection, irrigation, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), market prices of agricultural commodities, market linkages, credit and finance, bank schemes, etc. 

Sustainable Development Goals: Kisan Vani CRS aims to achieve the following SDGs: 

SDG 1: No Poverty

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 13: Climate Action

SDG 15: Life on Land

Primetime Programmes: Kisan Bhaiyon Ke Liye is a primetime programme and is a fusion of folk songs and information bulletins on important issues and various social concerns. 

Programmes broadcast from ISAP Kisan Vani majorly focus on agricultural information, cultural programmes (educational folk songs/drama/play etc.), market information, weather, health programmes, educational programmes, debates on social issues, information on govt schemes and subsidies, other useful information, agricultural news and events in MP and in other states of the country or abroad mandi bhav. 

Innovations in format or any other way: ISAP Kisan Vani adopts a unique technique for conveying information from the government and messages on social issues; the CRS does this through folk songs. ISAP Kisan Vani is connected with eighty folk singers and has a repository of more than three hundred folk songs.  The CRS is in touch with more than three thousand farmers in the region, and actively involves them in developing programmes. 

Core Team: The core team at ISAP Kisan Vani is constituted by Station Head and Programme Manager. The CRS has a panel of agri-experts who review the content produced by the station. Folk singers and local farmers are active volunteers who contribute to the initiatives of the CRS.

Major Projects Undertaken: The following are the major projects that have been executed by ISAP Kisan Vani.

• COVID-19 awareness campaign  in association with UNICEF. 
• COVID-19 vaccination awareness campaign  in association with  MoHFW 
• Health-related campaigns and International Day of Yoga campaigns  in association with the Ministry of Ayush and CEMCA  
• Poshan Abhiyan
• MSME Bamboo Promotion
• TB Challenge  in association with MOHFW and SMART  

Sustainable Strategies: ISAP Kisan Vani depends on donors, government and private agencies’ CSR funds for financial sustainability. At the time of inception, infrastructure development and procurement of technical items was supported by the State Department of Agriculture, Madhya Pradesh. Presently, the revenue generated through advertisement meets around ten percent of the recurring expenses. To meet the rest of the expenditure, ISAP cross-subsidizes operations of CRS with its other agri-related projects. 

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: ISAP Kisan Vani has an outreach potential of nearly 1,50,000 people within its broadcast limits. 

Major concerns in the Community: The farming community in the region and the nation at large must be supported through interventions that can ensure a stability in prices and thereby, stability in their income. They must also be equipped with the latest technology and knowledge in agriculture and allied sectors. Government agricultural agencies and other organisations in the sector must take steps to make their lives better.