Radio frequency helps farmers call for help (even without signal or power) | Rhewal

The agricultural organization Agri Western Cape (AWK) has just registered a radio frequency with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Okosa) to empower farmers in the province with a means of communication that they can rely on even without power or mobile phone signal.

The system will enable farmers to call for help wherever they are in the province, says AWK.

Although the system has its limitations and the environment will determine the range, any high frequency radio will be able to use the registered channel to communicate with other farmers in the area.

“We would like to encourage all farmers in the Western Cape to have this frequency installed on their radios so that an online communication network can be established where farmers can support each other in times of need,” says Louis Wessels, manager for legal services at AWK.

AWK has been working for the past two years to set up the initiative and Wessels says it was gratifying when the licensing was finally approved.

“We know how critical reliable and efficient communication is during an emergency – especially in rural areas where agricultural communities are left defenseless due to the current power crisis,” says Wessels.

“Rural security remains a priority for us; we really hope that this radio communication will promote safety.”

AWK encouraged users to ask their service provider to program the Agri Western Cape frequency on their radios and keep track of those whose radios are programmed with the AWK frequency.