Teaching Rural Farmers With Cell Phone Videos
13 June 2011
Farmers receive information on improving crop yields by watching how-to videos on their mobile phones.
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Mobile phones are an important business tool for farmers in rural areas. But they also put a valuable educational tool in their hands.
The University of Illinois in the United States has a project called SAWBO -- Scientific Animations Without Borders. It produces educational videos that can be downloaded to cell phones. The goal is to help people in developing countries improve their lives.
One video shows farmers how to make a natural insecticide from neem seeds to prevent insect damage to crops. The process starts with sorting and drying the neem fruits, as explained in this version with a Nigerian narrator.
WOMAN: "Let the fruit dry in the sun for about three or four days, until they become brown. Using a mortar and pestle, the fruits are slightly pounded to remove the shells from the fruits without breaking the seed inside."
The videos use computer animation. Some of the animated characters are a little funny looking -- like a farmer with a long nose. But the subjects are serious, including a health video on preventing cholera.
Team member Francisco Seufferheld says the information in the videos is meant to be quickly understood.
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