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Reference Type |
Conference Proceedings |
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Record Number |
50 |
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Author |
Alders, R.G.; Bagnol, B. |
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Year of Conference |
2000 |
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Title |
Communicating with farmers - a vital element in the control of Newcastle disease in village chickens |
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Conference Name |
Poster presented at the XXI World's Poultry Congress, 202-24 August, 2000 |
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Conference Location |
Montreal, Canada |
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Label |
Conference poster |
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Keywords |
Extension material suitable for farmers, extension workers and veterinary staff was produced in parallel with field trials using thermostable, live vaccines against Newcastle disease. The material was developed in collaboration with farmers and included a field manual, flip chart, song, drama and poster. These were distributed to NGOs and field workers and used with reasonable success. However, the lack of adequate pretesting of some of this material led to misunderstanding of particular messages by the farmers and the community livestock workers involved in the vaccination campaigns. Female farmers had more difficulties than male farmers understanding the visual material. The pretesting of communication material with both male and female farmers is strongly advocated. |
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Notes |
Full text accompanying poster presented at the XXI World´s Poultry Congress, Montreal, 20 - 24 August, 2000. |
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COMMUNICATING WITH FARMERS - A VITAL ELEMENT IN THE CONTROL OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE IN VILLAGE CHICKENS Introduction In many parts of Africa, the majority of the population is rural-based and involved in agricultural production. In sub-saharian Africa, most of the smallholder sector production is done by women (Saito and Spurling, 1992) and up to one third of rural households are headed by women. Chicken raising, usually a female activity, is given less consideration by veterinary services staff even though most agree that chickens constitute one of the main protein sources affordable by most rural families. In addition, female farmers work longer hours than male farmers but have fewer assets (the chicken being a welcome exception in many cases), lower income and almost no access to credit and technical support (Pereka and Kinabo 1997). Agricultural extension services are frequently weak and deal mostly with crop and ruminant production. The extension staff is usually male who mostly contact male farmers (Saito and Spurling, 1992; Swanson, 1991). Swanson, Farmer and Bahal (1990) reported that only 7% of extension services were devoted to helping women farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. To have access to information regarding chicken raising activities and ND control, women face several difficulties. Women have had less access to communication means and often have more difficulty than men in interpreting communication material. Therefore, it is essential that extension material is specifically pretested with both male and female farmers. A Mozambican case study Village chicken raising, both for food, trade and ceremonial purposes, is traditional in rural areas and is generally the responsibility of women (Dohmen and Faftine, 1998). However, as in other African countries, ND is the most important production constraint, decimating up to 50 to 100% of birds annually (Wethli, 1995; Mavale, 1995; Harun and Massango, 1996). ND vaccination campaigns have a vital role to play in the improvement of household food security and family income (Harun and Massango, 1996; Mavale, 1995; Wethli 1995). Currently, three types of ND vaccine are used in Mozambique: La Sota, ITA-NEW and I-2. The last is a thermostable, live ND vaccine produced locally since 1999 by the Mozambican National Veterinary Research Institute (INIVE) in collaboration with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) ND Control Project (ACIAR, 1997). Two vaccine field trials using the thermostable, live ND vaccines, NDV4-HR and I-2, were conducted over a two year period. Simultaneously, a basic extension package was developed. Priority was given to radio programs since radio is the means of communication that reaches the most people, even if access to funds to purchase batteries varies during the year. Programs could be easily translated by radio staff and transmitted in African languages by local stations. Video programs were excluded as they were considered costly and out of the reach of most of the farmers. All printed material was produced in black and white to enable duplication by photocopiers at the provincial level and to minimise ongoing costs at the completion of the project. Communication with farmers was an integral part of field trials with thermostable ND vaccines and helped researchers to develop an understanding and appreciation of farmers' knowledge and priorities. In the preparation of extension material, special attention was paid to the perceptions and sensitivities of the village chicken owners. The insights gained from farmers enabled the development of material that addressed their concerns in a manner that also facilitated their comprehension. The different needs and capabilities of men and women were considered constantly during the fieldwork and elaboration of the written, visual and audio material. This approach resulted in the development of a comprehensive extension package that aimed to give farmers, extension workers and decision makers the basic information needed to implement ND control activities successfully. The current extension package includes: A ND vaccination song - recorded in Portuguese and three African languages by the Mozambican Musicians Association, the song was conceived after visiting one of the vaccine field trial sites. Its words are included in the ND field manual. Radio programs - a radio drama and a question and answer program in Portuguese and four African languages are broadcast together with the ND vaccination song on national and community radios. The text of the programs is included in the ND field manual to facilitate the local recording of programs in other African languages. A pamphlet - provides an introduction to ND and its control in Portuguese. It is printed on both sides of an A4 sheet and is easily reproduced. It is useful for front line extension staff, literate farmers, farmers' associations and school children. A poster - consists of a large black and white line drawing of a rooster, ND vaccine vials and an eyedropper. Written in Portuguese, the poster provides space for the local vaccinator to write the venue, date, time and contact person for the next ND vaccination campaign. A drama piece - was developed by a local theatre group with experience in community development after visiting one of the vaccine field trial sites. This piece runs for 20 minutes and covers most aspects of ND control including the need to vaccinate before chickens get sick and to pay for the vaccine. As the drama's text is included in the ND field manual it can be used, in the form of role-plays, during the training of extension workers and community vaccinators. Role plays developed and performed by participants are encouraged during training sessions. A ND field manual - a 73 page manual entitled 'Newcastle Disease in Village Chickens: A Field Manual', in A4 format, aims to provide information (in Portuguese) to senior veterinarians and veterinary field staff on ND and its control. Chapter headings include the importance of ND in village chickens, the characteristics of ND, the collection and submission of samples for the diagnosis of ND, the control of ND, an introduction to live, thermostable ND vaccines, gender aspects, ethnoveterinary knowledge and the development of an extension program for ND control. A flip chart - a 28 page illustrated large-format booklet, A3 format with clear, largely self-explanatory line drawings and an accompanying narrative in Portuguese. It can be used for training and in the field, with farmers, to explain the characteristics of the vaccine and its application. Local frontline extension staff translate the Portuguese into the appropriate African language. Material in preparation includes a manual for trainers of community vaccinators and a simple checklist for community vaccinators. Impact and perception of communication material A technique introduced by the marketing and advertising industry to pretest communication material was used to evaluate the impact of the drawing. Pretesting is a means of ensuring the improvement of communication before distribution of a given product, thus ensuring a maximum impact and financial return from messages. To carry out the evaluation of the drawing, separate focus groups of male and female farmers were conducted to allow women to give their opinions (women often find it difficult to express themselves in front of male participants). During the session the drawing was presented and the participants were asked what they saw. Each person explained her/his perception of the drawing and expressed his/her doubts. The researcher recorded all the observations, without demonstrating any opinion or reaction. Each person was asked to explain in detail what she/he understood by the drawing and what emotion or message was conveyed. Thus the researcher tried to understand the justification for each interpretation. This technique is generally used for the pretest of communication material (Bertrand, 1976). To carry out the evaluation of the drawing, separate focus groups of male and female farmers were conducted to allow women to give their opinions (women find it difficult to express themselves in front of male participants). During the session the drawing was presented and the participants were asked what they saw. Each person explained her/his perception of the drawing and raised their doubts. The researcher wrote down all the observations including the most unusual ones, without demonstrating any opinion and reaction and trying on the contrary to understand the justification given to each interpretation having the person explaining in detail what he understood and what emotion or message was conveyed. This technique is generally used for the pretest of communication material (Bertrand, 1976). Figure 1: Flip chart illustration used to demonstrate a chicken with diarrhoea Farmers` interpretations of the drawing (figure 1) varied according to gender, level of formal education and prior exposure to visual material. Some saw a hen with diarrhoea and a coconut shell, others, mainly women, did not understand that the chicken had diarrhoea and was sick. The coconut shell was not recognised by many women. This illustrates the fact that the graphic representations of reality, easily interpreted by people who already posses a visual culture due to frequent contact with drawings and illustrations, are not interpreted with the same facility by illiterate or semi-illiterate people, from both the linguistic as well as the graphic-visual point of view. In rural areas where people do not have access to magazines and newspapers, the cultural representations of reality are of a more realistic kind; these can be altered with time and through contact with other cultural vehicles. Women in particular are more often in such a situation because of the imbalance in access to formal education and western communication material. Although it was not stylized and appeared realistic to project workers, the drawing of the chicken with diarrhoea (figure 1) did not transmit the desired message. When farmers were unable to ascribe a clear message to the illustration, they tended to invent complex and erroneous interpretations. In other cases where the background elements were stylised or incomplete, interpretation was more complicated. The lack of a pretest will often allow assumptions to enter the communication process and this will most often be prejudicial to women as they have less exposure to the means of communication and/or because materials have not been adapted to their visual recognition patterns. Several factors contribute to the still limited use of the pretest of communication material. Social development programs are less often motivated by cost-benefit logic than the advertising industry. Social communication usually operates with longer time frames and pays little attention to immediate results, whereas the advertising industry usually aims to obtain an immediate increase of the volume of purchase. Another factor that might explain this situation is that project results are frequently evaluated in term of the number of communication materials produced (e.g. the number of booklets, radio programs, etc.) rather than the impact of these materials: how many men and women listened and understood the radio program, how many male and female farmers attended the meeting, etc. However, the fact that development projects often have few resources and a limited period of implementation should justify a higher investment in communication impact assessment. Even if the pretest of material is costly, the amount spent is insignificant compared to the cost of producing and distributing material that is not understood and does not motivate the audience in the intended manner. Conclusion Acknowledgements References |
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