Date: 07. Jan 2018

Professor Helen Hambly-Odame and Winifredo B. Dagli of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development of the University of Guelph discuss capacity development and the levels of change at which it operates in their paper titled “Why Capacity Development?” The authors also feature three case stories on capacity development in rural communication and development. In particular, the article presents the following cases: “Piloting and Up-Scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development” in the Philippines; “Jumpstarting Oramge-Fleshed Sweet Potato in West Africa through Diversified Markets” in Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso; and “Eat Local, Taste Global: ECV (Ethno-Cultural Vegetables) Ontario” in Canada.

Date: 05. Dec 2017

Rice agriculture is among the sectors most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Yet, it appears that little is written about how to communicate climate change among rice stakeholders, especially the resource-poor farmers. The necessity of communication has at some point been neglected as people would oftentimes just leave it to common sense. Over the years, as we get to know more about this phenomenon, we realize that it is highly complex, and along with it is the difficulty of effectively conveying educational messages across our stakeholders.

This book works at helping fill that gap. It is still a long shot from where it is supposed to be, but it is, nonetheless, a deliberate attempt to provide some guidance on how people involved in communicating climate change in the rice agriculture sector should tackle this important and highly complex, at times intellectual, discourse.

The book has two parts. The first is drawn from literature review on some key principles that delve on communicating climate change. While the principles are for climate change in general, the authors situated these principles in the agriculture context. The second part is drawn from the completed project of the authors co-funded by PhilRice and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security on integrating climate change in high school curriculum. The project was executed with and fully supported by the Department of Education.

This book is part of the project “Development of Agriculture TecVoc High Schools Offering Crops Production as Key Information Hubs on Climate ChangeReady Rice Production Technologies for Improved Agricultural Productivity” funded by the DA – Bureau of Agricultural Research.

The necessity of communication has at some point been neglected as people would oftentimes just leave it to common sense.

Agricultural extension workers, newbies in agricultural communication, and colleagues in the Department of Agriculture who are oftentimes tasked to talk about climate change in ordinary man’s language will benefit from this book.  While the context is on rice, which is understandable owing to the credentials and exposures of the authors and the host Institute, we encourage readers to see how the principles can fit into their respective contexts.

Read on, and do give us feedback so we can enrich this initial work on climate change communication in the rice sector, Philippine setting.

The book may be accessed at this link http://www.philrice.gov. ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ Communicating-climate-change-in-the-rice-sector.pdf

(Source: Foreword of the book by SAILILA E. ABDULA Executive Director, PhilRice)

Date: 09. Nov 2017

This study contributes to the field of films for social change by exploring the production process of participatory film-making for social change, whereby explicit claims of community empowerment, participation, and social change are the very justification of the production. It investigates the definitions and production processes of community art, participatory video and mediated participation. 

It builds on the experience gained in the Caribbean region as a result of FAO projects aimed at strengthening preparedness to natural disasters and improving community-based climate change adaptation. It provides a complete overview of how to assess rural people’s communication needs and how to plan and implement ComDev activities in the context of disaster risk management, crisis preparedness and emergency response in agriculture, food security and nutrition. It also provides guidance on how to apply ComDev to enhance the overall ADRM participatory planning and result monitoring processes, ensuring multi-stakeholder dialogue and participation.

Date 29. Jul 2015

The Knowledge and Communication Module (Modulo de Conocimiento y Comunicación) on PASTURE MANAGEMENT FOR DAIRY FARMING was developed with the participation of local producers and technicians in Yapacaní, Department of Santa Cruz, as part of the Communication for Sustainable Development Initiative (CSDI), supported by FAO and the National Institute for Innovation in Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry (INIAF) of Bolivia. The module documents local agricultural practices in various formats such as videos, audio tracks, booklets, flipcharts, leaflets and posters. 

This leaflet was developed as a support material to complement and accompany the thematic video series on Pasture Management, to give a better understanding of the proposed techniques.(Spanish Version Only)

Date: 29. Apr 2016

The Knowledge and Communication Module (Modulo de Conocimiento y Comunicación) on PASTURE MANAGEMENT FOR DAIRY FARMING was developed with the participation of local producers and technicians in Yapacaní, Department of Santa Cruz, as part of the Communication for Sustainable Development Initiative (CSDI), supported by FAO and the National Institute for Innovation in Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry (INIAF) of Bolivia. The module documents local agricultural practices in various formats such as videos, audio tracks, booklets, flipcharts, leaflets and posters.

This Facilitator’s Guide has been produced for local technicians, communication practitioners, extensionists and community agents to train and provide technical assistance to farmers using the thematic audio-visual series. It is a Step-by-step guide to orient facilitators in conducting the training-learning process; provides guidelines for using the Module and implementing the practices; and contains additional technical information on the subject, to broaden the facilitator’s knowledge.

(Spanish Version Only)

This Participant’s Booklet guides producers through the training and stays with them as a permanent reference of what they learned from the audiovisual materials. It helps them exchange knowledge and addresses the issues related to lack of information when it comes to milk production, livestock management and family farming.

(Spanish Version Only)

Also available in French and Spanish

Module 1. Introduction to ComDev planning
Module 2. Participatory communication appraisal
Module 3. Designing the ComDevstrategy and plan
Module 4. Implementing the ComDev plan
Module 5. Participatory message and materials development
Module 6. Assessing results and fostering sustainability
Module 7. Applying ComDev to rural development challenges

In addition, a Guide to ComDev Training provides practical tips for delivering effective ComDev training using the Sourcebook, including how to tailor-fit the content to stakeholders’ learning needs and practical aspects such as venue, duration, training methods or learning aids.