digital Green: a participatory framework for agricultural extension

Strategy

The Digital Green project has experimented with techniques to motivate participatory agricultural extension through video in partnership with a NGO, GREEN Foundation. In GREEN Foundation’s operational area of southeastern Karnataka, initial field trials have shown that at least five times more farmers attempted better agricultural practices after integration of the Digital Green system over the NGO’s previous efforts.

The following 3 phases detail our proposed direction for the next 2.5 years:

Phase 1 (Present – August 2007): Rigorously evaluate our approach in 12 villages to converge on a scalable Digital Green system.
Phase 2 (September 2007 - August 2008): Extend the Digital Green system to 50 villages and use the other 50 villages belonging to the GREEN Foundation’s target area for control-based validation. Partner with other extension programs, including government and NGOs, to disseminate sustainable agricultural practices to small and marginal farmers in 50 additional villages in varying agricultural, socioeconomic environments.
Phase 3 (September 2008 – August 2009): Partner with other extension programs, including government and NGOs, to disseminate sustainable agricultural practices to small and marginal farmers across India.

Phase 1: Evaluation

We are currently evaluating our approach in 12 villages in southeastern Karnataka. These studies will compare the impact of 3 forms of agricultural extension:

Regular, field-based visits by staff
Staff visits in combination with generic Digital Green content
Staff visits in combination with both generic and locally-produced Digital Green content

The impact of the system will be measured on quantities and qualitative metrics. Due to the limited, short-duration of this study, the evaluation will be restricted to a preliminary understanding of the increase in interest or adoption produced by the Digital Green system over existing solutions. This evaluation will allow us to converge on a Digital Green system that can be replicated and scaled in a cost-realistic manner.

Phase 2: Validation and Extension

Based on results of the Phase 1 evaluation, we intend to extend the Digital Green system. This expansion will have two objectives:

Understand the end-to-end benefits provided to farming communities in agriculturally and socioeconomically-contiguous environments over a long duration.
Explore the establishment of partnerships with other extension programs, including government and NGOs, in dissimilar zones to produce and distribute locally relevant content.

In each farming community, local animators are hired on a temporary, part-time basis. Local animators are members of these same communities, and are chosen for an equitable balance of genders. Each week, animators conduct a minimum of 3 Digital Green screenings per week during suitable evening hours. They transport Digital Green equipment to different segments of their communities, maintain attendance records, and track the interest and adoption of promoted techniques. In villages in which peer content is also produced, animators also assist field staff during content recordings. In the control villages in which Digital Green equipment is not be supplied, local animators still conduct a minimum of 3 meetings per week for the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices in their communities. Each field staff supervises 4 or more local animators and attends Digital Green screenings and meetings on a rotational daily basis.

Organizational and equipment structure for the Digital Green studies

By accessing the Digital Green repository, which already includes over 150 videos, animators systematically present a DVD curriculum of locally relevant sustainable agriculture practices.

The Digital Green system includes the costs of the TV, DVD player, and local animator. These components cost roughly Rs. 27,506 or US$ 625 per village. Additional costs, including field managers and camcorders, may be amortized over larger communities.

Equipment	Cost per Unit (Rs.)	Duration (Mo.)	Total (Rs.)	Total (US$)
TV	Rs6,525	-	Rs6,525	$159
DVD Player	Rs2,981	-	Rs2,981	$73
Local Animator	Rs1,500	12	Rs18,000	$439

These costs depend on the manner in which the Digital Green system is deployed. Some organizations may already have an available field staff, which can be trained using Digital Green content. And in some villages, communities may be willing to share their TVs and DVD players or provide access to their local cable network for screening content.

digital Green Team