A Video Storytelling Method to Enhance Agricultural Extension - Workshop Handbook

This handbook is designed to provide tools for civil society institutions interested in developing and utilising participatory videos to communicate knowledge about new agricultural technologies and practices to rural communities in developing countries. It is intended to serve as a practical guide for aiding organisations to conceptualise, produce, and screen participatory videos in community settings. The handbook was developed by the Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI) at Michigan State University (MSU) and was prepared for a workshop held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on June 13 2017, which was attended by representatives from the Tanzanian government, university researchers, non-governmental organisations working in Tanzania, and donor organisations.

As explained in the handbook, “Participatory video is a tool for positive social change, used across the globe as a means of empowering marginalized communities to take control of their destinies. This handbook outlines the Michigan State University approach to participatory video. Our approach differs from traditional participatory video methods in its emphasis on the use of video as a scalable teaching tool rather than advocacy. Our approach focuses on integrating farmers' stories in a narrative storytelling style in order to enhance the relevance of agricultural information for local communities.”

The handbook consists of five parts:

• Part One: Background and Examples - provides background on the project and examples of applications of the participatory video technique from GCFSI past projects.
• Part Two: Developing Content and Storyboards With Farmers - emphasises methods to identify stories and develop locally relevant content and storyboards with representatives from local communities that can help to guide future production.
• Part Three: Video Production - outlines the process of collaborating with local actors and communities in the video production process.
• Part Four: Dissemination - discusses dissemination strategies, including techniques for facilitating constructive conversations in community settings during video screenings and complementing screenings with other communication modes.
• Part Five: Evaluating Outcomes - suggests approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of participatory video projects.
• An appendix offers a few additional technical tips, as well as links to additional resources.