Radio FADECO’s target groups include community development workers, local government, schools and vocational colleges, health facilities, and regional NGOs, farmers, businessmen, livestock managers, and micro-finance institutions. A board of seven—assisted by fourteen committee members representing various community constituencies—governs the station. A four-member board is responsible for staff recruitment, training, evaluation, and other station ownership matters.
Radio FADECO’s program schedule includes daily news, market reports, and sports updates, and programs of widely varying nature: arts, culture, and history; women and youth; governance; human rights; agriculture; the environment, education, health; science and technology; entertainment and faith.
FRC 100.8 FM broadcasts from 5.00 A.M. to midnight, to a potential audience of over 1.5 million in the four districts of Karagwe, Missenyi, Bukoba and Muleba (all in Kagera Region, NW Tanzania). The station can also be heard in neighboring borders districts in Uganda (Mbarara, Rakai and Masaka) and Rwanda (Kibungo, Rusumo).
With the enrichment of its programming in mind, FRC 100.8FM has partnered with the BBC Swahili Service, the Swahili Service of Radio Deutche Welle, the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), Radio Habari Maalum (RHM), and with the Vancouver, Canada-based Commonwealth of Learning. FRC 100.8 FM has partnered with Farm Radio International, and its affiliated Africa Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI).
FRC 100.8 FM listeners participate actively at various levels through fans clubs, salam clubs (greetings clubs), live phone-ins, text-ins, and round-table panel discussions.
FRC 100.8 FM’s greatest challenges are technical. The station transmits at a power of 50W, using a single dipole antenna. Coverage is therefore much smaller than they would wish. Reception in valley bottoms and behind high hills can be difficult. Another challenge is staffing. It is difficult to entice qualified journalists and radio people to come and work in a rural setting.
Radio FADECO earns most of its revenue through advertising, supplemented by short-term contracts and program sponsorships. But making ends meet is still a challenge. Given the benefits of radio, its relative ease of operation and considerable impact, FRC 100.8 FM is pressing forward in a number of areas. Developing in-house production capacity and increasing its power output top the agenda.