behavioural change; Innovation; learning; sustainable agriculture; training; video
Abstract :
[en] Understanding how to stimulate innovation among farmers and processors is crucial for attaining
sustainable agriculture. To explore how farmer-to-farmer learning videos and training workshops
changed women’s rice processing practices, we interviewed 200 women and 17 women’s groups in
20 villages in central Benin, including four villages which had received no intervention at all. Video on
improved rice parboiling (a process whereby paddy is pre-cooked by steam without touching the
water) had reached three times more women (74%) than hands-on training workshops organized by
local NGOs and contributed to more equitable knowledge sharing within communities. In the villages
where the NGOs had shown the video, 24% of the women started to use the improved parboiler
equipment individually and 56% collectively within their group, compared to none in the control
villages. About 92% of the women who attended both video and workshops developed creative
solutions based on the idea of pre-cooking paddy with steam, compared to 72% for those who
learned only through video. Fewer women innovated after learning through workshops only (19%) and
after being informed by their peers (15%). Video watching also made women pay attention to
reducing the loss of steam and to use local resources innovatively to conserve energy. More than 90%
of the women who watched the video improved the quality of their parboiled rice, for example, by
removing dirt, washing rice several times and drying rice on tarpaulins. Workshops stimulated
innovations less than video did. Farmer-to-farmer video has great potential to enhance sustainable
agriculture by encouraging local innovations.
Van Mele, Paul; Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) > Learning and Innovation Systems Program > 2009
Vodouhe, Davo Simplice; Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques de l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi, Bénin > Economie, Socio-Anthropologie et Communication pour le développement rural > 2009
Wanvoeke, Jonas; Africa Rice Center > Learning and Innovation Systems Program > 2009
Language :
English
Title :
The power of video to trigger innovation: rice processing in central Benin
Alternative titles :
[fr] Le pouvoir de la vidéo de déclencher des innovations: cas de l'étuvage du riz au centre du Bénin
Publication date :
2009
Journal title :
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
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