VIDEO AND RADIO PROGRAMS

Strengthening and creating private public partnership in agriculture

Jonas Wanvoeke

Africa Rice Center (WARDA)

2nd Conference IAALD Africa ChapterAccra, 15th -17th July 2009

Ghana

Outline

1. Presentation of WARDA2. Why video and radio programs?3. Video programs4. Rural radios5. Challenges in scaling up with video6. Why public private partnership ?7. Perspective

1. Presentation of WARDA

Autonomous and intergovernmental research association of African member states11 (1971); 17 (end 2007) and 21 (since Sept 2007)

Mission:

Contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment.

1. Presentation of WARDA

• 1. Genetic diversity and breeding Bridging genetic diversity and breeding to produce rice genetic resources adapted to changing environments

• 2. Intensification, diversification and NRM Enhancing productivity of rice-based farming while protecting ecosystem services

• 3. Learning and innovation systems Stretching farmer’s windows of opportunity through partnerships, learning and innovation systems

• 4. Policy and impact

Rice policy and technology impact on food security and poverty reduction

4 programs focusing on 5 research areas: Rice genomic – post harvest – seed system – policy and market – rice value chain

• To increase the effectiveness of processes shaping the development and dissemination of sustainable technologies

• To enhance rural learning systems

• To strengthen the PPP

2. Why video and radio programs ?

Identify generic topic

Learn about context diversity

Develop tool with local actors

Test tool in various contexts

Scale-up and scale-out

Zooming in, zooming out approach to develop learning tools

3. Video program

• Regionally relevant

• Locally appropriate

• Build on outputs from participatory approach

• Visualise local innovations

• Use appropriate language and symbols

Clues of the videos

• Strengthen local ownership

• Improve partnerships

Videos elaborated through the ZIZO approach• Easy to distribute and

to share• Easy to be translated• Easy to be modified

for fitting a specific context

Land preparation and water management

Rice seed bed preparation

Rice transplanting

Rice weed management

Soil fertility management

Figure 1. Countries where videos are translated

Table 2. Number of institutions reached with videosType of organization

First level uptake

2nd and 3rd level uptake

Devlpt. agencies 19 21

Internat. NGO 8 8

Local NGO 10 14

Research instit. 34 18

Extension serv. 22 48

Farmers assoc. 9 167

(Farmer) trainers - 2,516

Projects 16 35

Univ. & schools 15 8

Training centers - 4

Rural radio 28 10

TV 1 4

Network 2 9

Total 164 3462

Table 3. Number of farmers reached with videos

Country Seed health +Post-harvest

Benin 100,877

Cameroun 85

Gambia 2,700

Ghana 230

Guinea 11,567

Mali 8,020

Togo 390

Uganda 7,633

Total 131, 502

300000

28500

6300100

131000

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Figure 2. Number of farmers reached with videos

Translations5 15 20 30

• Develop radios scripts from video for radio broadcasters

• Interactive programs on rural radios and a Question & Answer Service helped promote the videos and receive audience feedback using mobile phone

• Special package of 5 rural radio scripts developed on rice seed and crop management

• Hard copies distributed to over 300 rural radios in all rice growing countries in Africa

• Hosted on website of Farm Radio International

• http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/

4. Rural Radio

• NARS do not have media expertise, not used to work with media companies

• Research organizations are not familiar with establishing contracts with private companies

• NARS staff are not always able to articulate to the companies exactly what is required

• The majority of in-country media companies do not have agricultural expertise

• Difficult for NARS to assess the quality of the end product

5. Challenges in scaling up with video

• Farmers requested their own copies. No responses from intermediaries

• M&E, the feedback mechanism from the multiple service providers back to research

5. Challenges in scaling up with video

• Research has an important role to play in content creation but need to do this in partnership with communication professionals (Countrywise, FRI)

• Explore innovative partnership that will allow local language rice videos to be in the hands of farmers (Discom)

• To have and to maintain the quality of the material

6. Why public private partnership ?

• Integrate our videos with mobile technology.

• Explore how mobile phones, rural radio and agricultural newspapers could play a role in terms of gathering feedback from farmers

• Strengthen the PPP in order to maintain the quality of the material for time poor farmers which enable WARDA to stand out above the rest

7. Perspectives

www.africaricecenter.org