Making Learning Videos with Farmers

Abstract

Making videos with farmers highlights their agroecological innovations. This helps to counter the nagging persistence of top-down extension models, which often prioritize government and corporate agendas. Videos filmed with farmers on the Bolivian Altiplano highlighted their centuries-old knowledge of reading the signs of nature to predict the weather. Validating a factsheet on intercropping pigeon peas with maize in Malawi allowed the local researchers to incorporate farmers’ knowledge into their work. Combining scientific research on aflatoxins with local women’s experiences in Mali was crucial for making effective training videos. On a video from the Peruvian Andes, farmers explained how they ruined some of their land with chemical fertilizers, prompting the community to innovate with soil restoration techniques. Filming videos with farmers helps to show respect for their knowledge and experiments, and to share their ideas with farmers across the world.