Film training Media trainers

Cocoa specialists

External Cocoa Specilists

Villagers

Cycle repeated to make several videos

STCP

PARTICIPATORY COCOA VIDEO DEVELOPMENT GHANA 2004/5

Farmer responses

Farmer video team

Ministry of Food & Agriculture

Cocoa Research

Farmer cooperative

Farmer responses

2005

Multiplication of Master copies by local organisations, distribution and screening through own networks

Final edit & Master copy production

1

2

3

Video Training

Master copy

Service provider responses

Film Topic Selection & Filming

Pretesting

Evaluate impact of PV.

Focus on PV as:

1) a trustworthy & available source of detailed cocoa information regardless formal education level

2) A democratising and liberating process that builds capacity to reflect on and improve many aspects of life.

Future work Assessment 2006?

Rough Edit

Multiplication of video

DVDs, VCDs, TV etc

Distribution & Screening

Media trainers

Inception meeting Farmer video

team

Farmer Cooperative

Villagers

Experience from advocacy work shows that:

•Video is a reflexive medium

•enables people to be both the subject and the object of reflection.

•see themselves through the lives and experiences of others.

•generates the sense of empowerment

•people discover that they could do things they did not do before

•say what they think and know that what they say will be shown beyond their village.

Could video capture the Field School experiences and take these to cocoa farmers? Does this lead to new action for personal and social change?

Cocoa video:

Why?

Participatory video initiative

Cocoa gained prominence in 1950s 1960s, Ghana.

Mostly replaced natural forest. Big money earner

Decline in 1980s, loss of interest, farms change hands, drought, farmers retire, trees & knowledge lost

Upturn in late 1990s, good income again possible

Thousands of new farmers, state interest in cocoa.

Cocoa video:

Why?

Old trees often in dense overgrown thickets

New trees would compete with remaining natural forest

Need for labour keeping some children out of school – socially undesirable

Pesticides a risk to health

State agricultural extension service run down & ineffective

Cocoa video:

Why?

Sustainable Tree Crops Programme set up late 1990s.

Gathers relevant cocoa growing skills and practices.

Encourage assimilation of skills, investment by farmers.

Adopts informal learning approach, the FARMER FIELD SCHOOL, started in 2003.

Build on informal learning principles – very effective

Cocoa video:

Why?

Skills and confidence gained in pilot FFS difficult to share widely with other farmers. Trainers and costs!

Video increasingly common for entertainment, even in villages in cocoa growing areas.

Digital video much easier to handle these days.

Why not put video into the hands of farmers from the Farmer Field School programme?

Cocoa video:

Why?