Participants attending a training programme held recently in Mindanao, Philippines, announced their plans to show local language farmer training videos on agroecological practices to the indigenous communities they work with, as this would not only increase their knowledge, but will also contribute to improving food security, peacebuilding efforts and cooperation among farmers.
The other plans to promote farmer training videos that were shared by the participants include initiatives to ● strengthen resilience of vulnerable farmers to natural disasters ● assist with rural livelihood programmes and conservation efforts ● boost rural women organisations and ● support school garden projects and other youth-led efforts, among others.
The training, which was offered to two batches of participants, was organised by Access Agriculture in collaboration with local partners under the ‘Scaling Agroecology in the Philippines’ project, with support of the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation. It brought together 30 participants belonging to 14 carefully selected teams from partner organisations.
The workshop focused on familiarising the participants in the effective use of an e-extension tool, called the Smart Projector, that each team received during the training as part of their responsibility to share practical knowledge on farming and food processing among their communities. The solar-powered Smart Projector, which can be used even in offline and off-grid environments, contains the library of farmer-to-farmer training videos, including over 300 videos in three Filipino languages – Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon.
The course covered an introduction to Access Agriculture resources, a hands-on experience with the Smart Projector, facilitation skills for organising video shows and interacting with community groups, data collection and monitoring tools to track performance as well as a field simulation exercise that involved all the elements that the participants learnt in the classroom – from mobilising farmers to screening of videos using the Smart Projector and reporting.
The course also included an interactive experience-sharing session, where the participants learned from Umar Bashir, an inspiring Entrepreneur for Rural Access (ERA) from Uganda, about practical ways of reaching indigenous farmers. At the end of the programme, each team shared their plans for using the Smart Projector and assured that they will train their colleagues and partner organisations in using the tool, so that maximum number of farmers can benefit from the videos.
The Access Agriculture team members – Josephine Rodgers, Phil Malone and Danessa Lopega – who coordinated and facilitated the training programme, said that the simulation exercise with the farmers helped the teams realise the value of local language farmer-to-farmer training videos for motivating rural communities to adapt the learning to their own context. “It also showed the importance of respecting farmers and listening to their needs and concerns.”
Appreciating the teams for sharing their ambitious but clear outreach plans for the use of the Smart Projector, Access Agriculture Coordinator for the Philippines Danessa Lopega, said, “We will continue to encourage and advise the teams in implementing their plans and visit them when video shows are scheduled in different regions of the Philippines.”
The teams which took part in the training belong to the following organisations: Nueva Ecija Rice Corn Vegetable Growers and Livestock Raisers Multipurpose Cooperative; MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center (MASS-SPECC); Philippine Agroforestry Education and Research Network (PAFERN); Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA); Xavier Science Foundation (XSF); Central Philippines State University (CPSU); National Rural Women Coalition (PKKK); Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Foundation Inc. (NISARD); Alternative Bridge to Community Development (ab2cd, Inc.); Organic Farmers and Practitioners Association North Cotabato (OFPANC); Filipino Farmers' Seed Network (FFSN); Federation of Free Farmers (FFF); Kadtuntanya Foundation, Inc. (KFI); Anak ng Tribu Talaandig-Higaunen Association.
