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Friends you can trust December 11th, 2016 by

Vea la versión en español a continuación.

Smallholder farmers get most of their new ideas from other farmers, that is, from friends, neighbors and relatives. The farmers’ friends usually live nearby. But other than convenience, the friends are valued because they are trusted. What works for my friends might work for me.

We saw a new twist on this a couple of months ago in Malawi when Ronald Kondwani Udedi and I were interviewing farmers who had watched learning videos distributed by DJs: young entrepreneurs who sell entertainment videos.

silaji-fanuelMost of the videos had been made elsewhere (not in Malawi). The videos, on rice, striga (the parasitic weed), and chilli had then been narrated in some of the local languages (Chichewa, Senna and Yao). When we spoke with smallholders in Malawi, they often called the farmers in the videos their “friends”, as we heard from Fadwick Matolo, in Ulolo village, near Phalombe. See blog here. The videos themselves do not say that the farmers are “friends,” and the Malawian farmers had received the videos cold—so to speak—with no extensionist to suggest that the folks on the screen were “friends.” The Malawian farmers themselves had decided (each one independently of other farmers) that the people on the screen were their friends. At first I found this puzzling.

dave-video-showFor example, Hope Mazungwi, in Stolo Village, near Mulanje, took the videos to a “video show” (like a village cinema) where the owner let him play some of the videos. Hope recalls “We saw that our friends are doing amazing things. The rice has big eyes.” Hope’s friends, in this case, were farmers that he had never met, in faraway Mali.

Esme Stena, near Chombe, watched the videos at a friend’s house and later told us “Our friends in the video, they keep rice seed in a clay pot. Does that mean that we should also keep our rice seed in a clay pot?” In this case, Esme’s “friends” were women farmers in Bangladesh.

I had earlier noticed that farmers in Uganda referred to the smallholders on the screen as “our brothers and sisters.”

The farmer learning videos are filmed with farmers in various countries, but are made to be shown all over the world. After all, tropical smallholders are already watching entertainment movies from foreign countries; they can just as easily watch learning videos from elsewhere. These learning videos are well-made, capturing the viewers’ attention with music, engaging interviews, beautiful photography, and relevant topics. The videos feature relaxed farmers, speaking from the heart about practical ideas that really work. They are honest farmers, who are not acting, and they gain the trust of the audience. With trust comes friendship.

Further viewing

You can listen to another Malawian farmer, Mr. Mpinda, tell how he adopted a new crop, after learning about it from his “friends” on the chilli videos here.

You can watch all of the farmer learning videos, in many languages at www.accessagriculture.org.

Further reading

For some of the earlier blog stories on DJs in Malawi: A hot plan, Beating a nasty weed, A new crop for Mr Mpinda and Village movies in Malawi.

You can read “Malawi DJs distribute videos to farmers,” here.

And “The mud on their legs,” about farmers’ reaction to learning videos in Uganda, here.

AMIGOS CONFIABLES

11 de diciembre del 2016, por Jeff Bentley

Los campesinos sacan la mayorĂ­a de sus nuevas ideas de otros agricultores, o sea, de sus amigos, vecinos y parientes. Los amigos de los agricultores normalmente viven cerca. Pero mĂĄs allĂĄ de la cercanĂ­a, los amigos son apreciados por la confianza. Lo que funciona para mis amigos podrĂ­a funcionar para mĂ­.

Vimos otra faceta de esto hace un par de meses en Malawi cuando Ronald Kondwani Udedi y yo nos entrevistĂĄbamos con agricultores que habĂ­an visto los videos didĂĄcticos distribuidos por los DJs: jĂłvenes empresarios que venden pelĂ­culas en video.

silaji-fanuelLa mayorĂ­a de los videos habĂ­an sido hechos en otro lado (no en Malawi). Los videos, sobre el arroz, la striga (la maleza parasĂ­tica), y el chile habĂ­an sido narrados en algunos de los idiomas locales (Chichewa, Senna y Yao). Cuando hablamos con los campesinos en Malawi, a menudo decĂ­an que los agricultores en los videos eran sus “amigos”, como escuchamos de Fadwick Matolo, en la aldea de Ulolo, cerca de Phalombe. Vea el blog aquĂ­. Los mismos videos no dicen que los agricultores son “amigos,” y los campesinos de Malawi recibieron los videos sin facilitaciĂłn, sin extensionistas o alguien que sugiriera que las personas en la pantalla eran “amigos.” Eran los agricultores en Malawi quienes habĂ­an decidido (cada uno independientemente de los otros campesinos) que las mujeres y hombres en la pantalla eran sus amigos. Al principio me pareciĂł extraño.

dave-video-showPor ejemplo, Hope Mazungwi, en la aldea de Stolo, cerca de Mulanje, llevĂł los videos a un “video show” (como un cine rural) donde el dueño le permitiĂł mostrar algunos de los videos. Hope se acuerda que “Vimos que nuestros amigos hacen cosas increĂ­bles. Su arroz tiene granos grandes.” Los amigos de Hope, en este caso, eran agricultores que Ă©l ni conocĂ­a, en el lejano MalĂ­.

Esme Stena, cerca de Chombe, vio los videos en la casa de una vecina, y luego nos contĂł “Nuestras amigas en el video guardan su semilla de arroz en una olla de barro. ÂżEso significa que nosotras tambiĂ©n deberĂ­amos guardar nuestra semilla de arroz en una olla de barro?” En este caso, las “amigas” de Esme eran campesinas en Bangladesh.

Antes, me llamó la atención que los agricultores en Uganda llamaban a los campesinos en la pantalla “nuestros hermanos y hermanas.”

Los videos didĂĄcticos para campesinos se filman con agricultores en varios paĂ­ses, pero se los hacen para mostrar en todo el mundo. La verdad, los campesinos en los trĂłpicos ya ven pelĂ­culas de otros paĂ­ses; bien pueden ver videos educativos de otros lugares. Estos videos educativos estĂĄn bien hechos; capturan la atenciĂłn del pĂșblico con mĂșsica, entrevistas reales, linda fotografĂ­a y temas relevantes. Los videos muestran agricultores relajados, hablando sinceramente sobre ideas prĂĄcticas que les han funcionado. Son agricultores reales, no actores y ganan la confianza del pĂșblico. Con la confianza viene la amistad.

Para ver mĂĄs

Usted puede a otro agricultor en Malawi, el Sr. Mpinda, quien nos cuenta cĂłmo adoptĂł un nuevo cultivo, despuĂ©s de escucharlo de sus “amigos” en los videos sobre el chile aquĂ­.

Se puede ver todos los videos agrĂ­colas didĂĄcticos, en muchos idiomas en www.accessagriculture.org.

Para leer mĂĄs

Para algunos de nuestros previos blogs sobre los DJs en: A hot plan, Beating a nasty weed, A new crop for Mr Mpinda y Village movies in Malawi.

Se puede leer “Malawi DJs distribute videos to farmers,” aquí.

Y “The mud on their legs,” sobre la reacción de los agricultores a los videos didácticos en Uganda, aquí.

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