Participatory video for nutrition training for farmers in Malawi
Tian Cai, Hastings Chiwasa, Charles W Steinfield, Susan P. Wyche · 2015
This paper explores how participatory video can improve the knowledge and adoption of nutrition and food preparation practices among smallholder farmers in Malawi. Using a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, this study found that the participatory video method improved the participants' knowledge as much as the traditional demonstration method. Short-term adoption tests were carried out 7--10 days after the training. The extent of short-term adoption of the technique varied by the training topic. For egg-coated nsima, the overall short-term adoption rate was a little over 60% across the groups, while the rate for egg-coated pumpkin flower was around 32%. This rate for the former practice was significantly lower in the video group (50.9%) than in the traditional demonstration group (75.6%) mainly because the participants were unable to taste and smell the food during the video training. The adoption rate for the latter practice was similar between the two groups.