In Upper West Ghana, Africa, farmer social groups play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among local farmers. A 2024 paper by Kwapong and colleagues highlighted how these groups, coupled with participatory video (PV), serve as effective agents for raising awareness, facilitating learning, and promoting the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices.
By integrating farmers’ perspectives on CSA innovations through PV and collective knowledge-sharing, the study emphasizes how these efforts can inform targeted interventions to improve farming practices. Through such collaborative approaches, farmers in Upper West Ghana are better equipped to adopt sustainable farming methods that reduce environmental impacts, contributing to more resilient agri-food systems in Ghana and across the African continent.
Through the PV, the farmers expressed that they preferred CSA innovations that were less labor intensive, less costly, and relevant to their current farm practices. The farmers made trials and experimentation on the methods they learned, and were eager to share their successes to other farmers.
According to the farmers, the agricultural extension agents served as the primary source of information on CSA innovations. They learned about them through meetings and field demonstrations.
The authors noted that the women help in farming and adopting CSA practices through attending the meetings or listening to the success stories of male farmers to inform their husbands. Some women shared that other people often insult them for attending meetings but they are proud of their work on the farm and helping their husbands learn about CSA practices.
All these perspectives and experiences matter in developing impactful communication interventions to promote the adoption of innovations. The authors recommend increasing farmer participation in innovation design and implementation through participatory video methods. Ultimately, prioritizing contextualized innovations will ensure that interventions effectively address local needs.
Article contributed by Naomi Ida Marie C. De los Reyes, CCComDev intern
References
Kwapong N.A., Whitfield S., Ambuko J., Ankrah D.A., & Swanepoel F. (2024). Using participatory videos in understanding farmers experiences with climate smart agricultural practices: reflections from Ghana. Front. Sustain. Food Syst., 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1282993
Photo credit: N.A. Kwapong and colleagues (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1282993/full#supplementary-material)
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