Farmers to learn with locally translated videos

Kenyan farmers will soon be taught farming and other farm management practices through locally translated videos as a global not for profit organization, Access Agriculture, recently expressed interest in training Kenyan farmers, in what it called African breadbasket which needed to modernize farming to increase yields.

Access Agriculture will show partners how to develop factsheets and farmer-to-farmer training videos, translate videos into local languages, develop audio materials for broadcast and conduct research on video-mediated rural learning.
Access Agriculture also offers an online platform for agricultural R&D staff, extension agents, communication professionals and representatives of farmer organisation to view training videos and request new language versions. With videos on subjects ranging from cereals, livestock and fish to integrated pest management and business skills, the NGO is also planning to launch 'AgTube', which will particularly target young people. As a precursor to this, the organisation has been distributing DVDs to encourage young people to reconsider agriculture as a potential career.

  Its earlier intervention in West Africa has shifted unemployed youth's mind and created self dependency. In Benin and Mali for example, a DVD on rice has prompted young people to seize new opportunities in rice growing, milling and marketing, which has allowed them to earn over $400, Sh35,000 in a month.

“We are overly excited about this new venture and are looking forward to enrolling for working with Access Agriculture. This is the best way to entice more youths in to farming. Using technology to show them that agriculture is hip,”said Ezekiel Nyaoga the Group chairman of Gimtatech youth farmers group in Athi River.

Written by Alice Muriranja for African Laughter

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