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AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS
The potential of audio-visual materials for
communication among farmers in developing
countries is well recognized. CIMMYT's staff
of three in this field has recently developed
two 16 mm films and slide sets, and a film
strip on two subjects: "How .to Emasculate
and Pollinate Wheat" and "Field Technique
for Fertilizer Experiments". These were announced
in CIMMYT News and made available
at cost to other educational, research
and extension programs.
Other agencies are willing to pay a modest
price to have these visual aids permanent use.
Requests from research and educational institutions
in Germany, Australia, Canada, Spain,
Israel, Holland, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador,
Venezuela and Trinidad.
The same media are being used effectively
in the CIMMYT training program. All technicians
currently in training are being familarized
with these media and it is probable that
many will find them useful in their home
countries. One advantage of these visual aids
is that they give information in step-by-step
sequence so that when the technicians go to
the field they already have a good idea of how
to conduct many research procedures.
The only audio-visual materials made last
year for direct use with farmers were those
requested by the Puebla Project. The film
produced last year, "Would You Like to Increase
Your Corn Harvest?", was highly effective
in forming 50 new groups of participating
farmers in the Puebla Project. The
film was made especially to interest farmers
in the Project and show them how they could
increase their corn yields.
The agronomists working in the project are
enthusiastic about the impact of the film. For
example, at a meeting in the village of Santa
Maria Atexcac, the coordinator of the Puebla
Project asked why the participation in the village
had increased from only six farmers, last
year to more than 90 this year. Their answer
was that the project farm advisor had shown
a film in which they could see the corn plantings,
neighboring villages and people they
knew. The film showed how the corn was
cultivated and how certain farmers obtained a
better harvest. Thus, they concluded, "We
could see that it was the truth". Many of them
became enthused with the idea of participating
and were openly receptive to the farm
advisor's detailed instructions in the field.
During late 1969 and early 1970, the corn
film was used in the Puebla area at a total of
103 exhibitions in 98 locations with a total attendance
of 7,866 persons. The film is supplemented
with an information sheet giving specific
recommendations on fertilizer applications
for each of five zones in the region.
A second film, on the topic of credit, has
just been completed for use with farmers in
the Puebla Project. One of the most important
determinants of success or failure of the Projects,
at this moment, is the effective use of
credit for purchasing inputs such as fertilizer.
Traditionally, in the Puebla region, credit has
been used for emergencies, and seldom for
productive purposes. As the area is capitalpoor,
the introduction of heavy rates of fertilization
demands an infusion of capital from
outside the region, and simultaneously requires
that farmers learn how to use credit effectively
and repay on time. Agronomists involved in
the Project see these changes in habit and
attitude as a top priority problem. The Communications
Department has cooperated by
producing a -film that shows how farmers in
the area can use credit effectively, following
technical recommendations.
This film, like the general film on raising
yields, was made specifically for use in the
Puebla area. However, the message may be
?pplicable to groups of farmers in other developing
countries, and can serve as a prototype
for producing similar materials in countries
with work similar to the Puebla Project.
The communications training provided by CIMMYT
prepares the scientist to function as a catalyst in
agricultural change. Practical training is provided,
building upon a base of communications theory.
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