Abstract

In Africa, soil degradation and lack of access to safe drinking water pose a major obstacle to local development. Access to these resources is, in turn, influenced by many factors involving demographics, the natural environment, community organization, public policies and the political system as a whole, market conditions, gender equity, education, technology, democracy, etc. Community participation in the discussion of these issues and in decisions regarding the management of local resources is an essential element of the development process. In the face of these problems, there is a need to establish communication strategies that will facilitate the exchange of information and know-how between the various partners involved, and encourage the public to play a role in development initiatives. Communication is often used as a "top-down" tool to inform, mobilize, motivate or persuade farmers. The approach has been particularly ineffective in generating lasting changes in attitudes and behaviour with respect to development. A new approach is needed, one that facilitates problem identification, community involvement in the search for solutions, the promotion and circulation of useful local knowledge, and the appropriation of development initiatives by the people affected. Accordingly, this project will attempt to develop a communication strategy favoring the exchange of information and know-how between rural communities, farmers' organizations, development agencies and the local media, and establish a synergy among these stakeholders in order to support local participation in development initiatives designed to provide better natural resource management. Through participatory action-research methods, the study will attempt to strengthen the capabilities of development agencies, farmers' organizations and the media with respect to natural resource management communication; develop content based on local knowledge and partners' concerns; develop an appropriate method of ongoing evaluation; and document experimental data and disseminate it to the community of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), farmers' associations, the media, research, and the public at large.

Post-Project Summary

The project began with a needs-analysis mission in the three regions targeted by the project: Sikasso, Mali, and Fada N'Gourma (Dori) and Ziniaré, Burkina Faso. This activity served to familiarize the partners with the project, the local media and development entities. The mission was followed by an activity scheduling workshop held in Sikasso (June 2000) and three regional workshops to orient the partners (radio presenters, rural residents from community-based organizations, development technicians) in interviewing techniques, sound recording and broadcasting on natural resource management (NRM). Although these workshops produced concrete results, it was apparent that different levels of comprehension at the outset had marginalized certain people at the time the broadcasts were made. A second series of workshops was organized to provide partners with skill in animating communication processes in a rural setting. The Ziniaré workshop was followed by two onsite support missions. The workshops equipped the partners with participatory communication techniques. The presence of the project in the village motivated the inhabitants to seek solutions to their problems. A more open process, where answers to questions were not known beforehand, created a climate of trust that promoted participation on the part of everyone, including young people and women (groups usually marginalized). The way decisions were made was modified. The communities played a significant role in gathering feedback on the broadcasts (as well as new topics to be dealt with) through audience clubs and clubs of faithful listeners, in particular in Sikasso and Ziniaré. In addition to the radio broadcasts, the work led to the creation of a reference guide for the endogenous communicator (village coordinator coming from a rural or traditional organization); a guide for technical project managers that will allow them to ensure that participatory communication plays a role in resolving NRM problems and to evaluate whether (and if not, why) partners have replaced conventional management practices by the participatory method; a lively and well-documented narrative account of the research, intended for diverse audiences; a lexicon of terms used in participatory communication; a bulletin, "Kuma" ( "word" in Bambara), translated into two national languages; audio cassettes of the broadcasts; technical data sheets on local knowledge; and a film. The film served as a means of negotiation for one village in its pursuit of financial support for the construction of a well. It was also shown on national television in Burkina Faso. The project coordinator made a report on the results during a meeting on rural radio and food security in Rome in November 2001 and at the Inter-African Center for Studies on Rural Radio of Ouagadougou (CIERRO) in March 2001.

Recipient Institution(s)