New radio station geared towards farmers to come on air soon
The constituents of South Central Windward (SCW), particularly the farmers, will soon have a radio station which caters specifically to them.
The operation is being set up by brothers Elford and Errol Duncan and will go by the name ‘Common Sense Radio’ on a frequency soon to be announced.
Speaking about the new broadcasting entity on May 9 at the Ministry of Culture’s conference room, Alfred said the proposed radio station will carry the tagline “The People’s Station” and will work in collaboration with the disaster preparedness mechanism in SCW to send out information during times of natural disaster and other occasions.
The station is part of a bigger project in SCW aimed at disaster preparedness in the face of the upcoming hurricane season which runs from Friday June 1 to Friday November 30, 2018.“We realize and know what took place in the last hurricane season to some of our sister islands. Some were completely devastated by hurricanes and we know right now some of those islands are trying to get back to a semblance of normalcy, hence we all can see the importance of information because people need to know how to protect themselves and property,” Elford told journalists.
He noted that while information may not always be able to prevent loss of property, it can help prevent loss of life during disasters, so ‘Common-Sense Radio’ wants to be able to do everything in its power to prevent deaths.
“‘Common Sense Radio’ comes in to give information to the public so that they can know where to go, how to access needs they may have,” said Elford.He noted also that the station is expected to cater to the farmers as in his opinion, those who till the land are neglected when it comes to information.
“We would have information that will deal with the farmers in the advent of a storm and after a storm as agriculture is very important to the livelihood of the people in South Central Windward. We will place priority on the farmers in our broadcasts. It is an important and integral part of the disaster preparedness program.”
Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar supports the station.He said the station will play a role in the disaster preparedness process as communication plays and will continue to play a vital role during natural disasters.
“In the event that there is a disaster we want to ensure that we can communicate with persons within the constituency first and foremost who will be aware of the execution of certain duties they will have to enact,” said Caesar.