Rural Business NewsDuration: January 1999 – December 2008Partner: Mercy Corps Donor: USAID
In 1999 Pact entered into a partnership with Mercy Corps International. The Mongolian program, the Gobi Regional Economic Initiative, funded by USAID, works with leading representatives of herders, business, government, media, and nongovernmental organizations to create an environment conducive for business and entrepreneurial activity. The Gobi, a quasi-desert region, which covers the southern half of Mongolia, is Mongolia's least densely populated region. It is home to the majority of Mongolia's camel and goat populations, which produce cashmere, meat and other animal-origin products that provide the regional economy with its principle source of income. To be competitive, local herders and businesses need timely market prices and weather information as well as information on business planning, and human resource and financial management.  The initiative focuses on strengthening the skills and knowledge of enterprise operators and herders to enable them to respond effectively to market conditions. Pact Mongolia supports this initiative through the production and management of media products. An aspect of this work is the coordination of a team of market watchers who are located in each aimag (province) of Mongolia. The market watchers gather daily price information on sixty-four commodities. This is sent via sms to Pact Mongolia where it is processed for distribution via radio, television and printed media. This ensures that nomadic primary producers are no longer vulnerable to below market prices when approached by traveling commodity buyers. Added to this is information on new policy and regulation, agricultural innovations, grassland data and weather predictions which when compiled makes for business information services that form a critical backbone to planning agribusinesses. National broadcaster surveys consistently rate rural business news programming highly.Some key results Rural Business News – RBN – is an established brand of business information products in Mongolia.  Rural Business News Magazine• Six thousand copies of the magazine are printed every quarter. Studies indicate that each copy is read by up to eight people. • The 48-page A4 magazine delivers timely, content rich information to herders and small business operators in the rural areas. • Sixty nine percent of respondents in a monitoring survey conducted agreed that, "Rural business news products help me make sound decisions regarding the management of my livestock." Rural Business News Radio Pact broadcasts a nationwide RBN radio program three times weekly. The program delivers up-to-date market prices, weather information and technical advice available to its listeners. In 2007, Pact will produce over 120 hours of radio broadcasting that will be aired across the country. Whilst rural business news programs are always full of key facts, they are not all news and information based. A specialty of Pact Mongolia is its radio and TV drama. Over the years Pact Mongolia’s programs have formed the backbone of Mongolian local content. Amidst foreign imports, dubbed into Mongolian, Pact’s programs are made in Mongolia, by Mongolians and reflect life as it is while also passing on valuable knowledge that enables livelihood improvement.  Pact Mongolia programs simultaneously entertain and educate audiences. Issues explored include taxes, livestock management and insurance, fencing pasture, desertification and legal advice on land privatization.Examples of radio drama products within the rural business news framework: Herder from the Future In 2003 RBN launched what quickly became an extremely popular radio program Herder from the Future. This character-driven radio soap opera focused on improving livelihoods for rural Mongolians. It is estimated that more than one million listeners tuned into this twice weekly, nationally broadcast, 15-minute program. The program reached 75% of rural residents. It was replaced with new programming following four successful seasons. Herder from the Future was followed by Directions 1, a seasonally-sensitive, event driven radio show that mirrored natural and seasonal changes. The 26-part radio drama, which centered on a herding community in the Gobi region, was designed to incorporate into the show actual herding and business phenomenon that took place. When nationwide broadcast came to an end, Directions 2 took to the airwaves and continued to supply up-to-date and relevant information, as well as entertain audiences across the country. Some key results Listeners of Pact-produced radio drama give feedback: 'I learned about livestock insurance and how to access it.’ 'I learned about improving the quality of livestock. I am implementing what I heard in the show.' Rural Business News TV  Pact produces a fortnightly television program that airs nationwide. The television medium enables a more in depth look at specialized rural business. In addition to the information sections each program looks at a rural business examining its start up, successes, difficulties and marketing aspects. Real rural business practitioners provide advice and insight through this program.In the TV drama area, Pact Mongolia works with local production houses and a network of scriptwriters in the creation of quality behavior change communication productions. In this way Pact Mongolia aims to transfer its experience and practice of programming that intentionally conveys information and aims to change audience knowledge, attitude and practice. Television dramas made by Pact Mongolia since 1999 include: Endless Labyrinth, a 26 part drama, focused on a family that had lost its entire herd through natural disaster. Destitute, and in need of income, the family moves to the provincial centre in search of employment opportunities. The show addressed issues such as urban migration, and helped to unravel the tangles of life in a modern market economy Final Destination is set in a rural soum. It characters make their way through life’s dilemmas and tribulations. The drama aims to convey veterinary and agricultural information and link this to business practice. In 2007 Pact Mongolia completed the second 26 episode series of Final Destination bring the total of episodes to fifty-two. Almost half the participants taking part in the monitoring of Final Destination Series 1 said that they series had made it possible for them to broaden their knowledge of veterinary practice, animal care and the importance of calling a vet in at the right time. Market Watch Nomadic herders who were previously state supported and have become business operators in a market based economy are now able to make better business decisions about the timing of sales of primary produce. Whether considering a herd reduction to prepare for winter or facing an on-the-spot mobile commodity trader, herders can maximize profit based on factual immediately available market price information. Pact Mongolia's national network of market watchers gathers prices for sixty-four commodities in local markets five days a week. Information and communication technology enables the gathered prices to be sent to a central database for daily, weekly and quarterly analysis and distribution. This market information is broadcast via radio and television and is available on text message request through a Mongolian cell phone provider working in partnership with Pact. Over seven hundred text message price requests were received in the first three months of 2007. This quarter is Mongolia’s coldest period. The depth of winter represents one of the most trying times for herding-dependent businesses, with fewer commodities to sell and extreme weather conditions. Pact Mongolia Media activities Pact Mongolia gets involved in a wide range of activities to support the growth, establishment and sustainability of independent media and to strengthen media freedom and quality journalism.  Community Radio in the Gobi DesertPact supported establishment of the Gobi Wave Information Center, the first regional media entity outside the capital of Ulaanbaatar. The center is an independent community radio station. Training for programmers has been provided through several ‘Knight Fellows’, experienced journalists made available to support new and developing media around the world. The center produces and broadcasts more than 100 minutes of original programming each week via long-wave radio to 300,000 residents of the Gobi desert. Training Pact trained more than 75 journalists, rural media representatives, and others in surveying, interviewing, reporting, editing, and media management. National independent media network In 2004 Pact was instrumental in the development of a national network of media actors. Communication for Development specialist and consultant Tracey Naughton (Australia/South Africa) provided training that covered the role and functions of independent media groups in the USA, Aboriginal Australia and South Africa. These models were used as the basis for developing the Mongolian NGO, the Mongolian Information Network (MIN). MIN members received follow up training in surveying, interviewing, reporting, editing, and media management. Community participation in local planning Pact commissioned consultant Tracey Naughton who designed a curriculum for the training of government officials. The four day course now in use is designed to develop the communication capacity of government officials and governance officials. The course includes practical methodology for inclusive, participatory multi-stakeholder planning meetings at local level. Animal to human disease transmission prevention Every summer in Mongolia brings hazards of zoonotic diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans. One example is the short hunting season for the delicacy of marmot meat that calls for extreme care in preparation, to avoid the risk of contracting bubonic plague. Children who come into contact with dead animals are at risk of contracting diseases because they are curious and not aware of the danger. Pact Mongolia produces multi-media materials to increase awareness of risk and promote harm reduction behavior. The last two years of the annual campaign have used puppets to demonstrate to children how they can come to harm when they encounter a dead animal, and what they must do when this happens. Training videos Pact Mongolia has produced training videos to support the field training conducted by Mercy Corp’s GOBI Initiative. In eight years of production, many topics have been dealt with. These include cashmere production, business planning, and growing, storing and preserving fruit and vegetables. Staff contacts
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