WORKSHOP TO PREPARE MEDIA AND MATERIALS FOR USE IN TRAINING FARMERS INS/78/008 SMALL FARMERS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT 31 JULY TO 10 AUGUST 1984 CIPAYUNG INDONESIA.

The purpose of the Workshop to Prepare Media and Material for Group Organizers to use in Training Farmers was to bring together teams of field workers graphic artists and training specialists to develop simple extension media for use by group organizers. The specific objectives were as follows: by the end of the workshop the participants will have selected and planned appropriate media/materials for group organizers to use in training farmers produced prototypes of the selected media/materials and pretested and revised the materials based on feedback from the farmers and group organizers. The following items summarize the results of lectures discussions and group activities which took place during the workshop. Following a review of existing use of media on the project sample extension media from throughout the Asian region were presented to the participants. These were discussed after a short talk on media planning. Next 4 groups were formed to work on the 4 priority information needs of small farmers as identified during prior evaluation exercises. These covered design of group production plans group savings participation/group dynamics and accounting and bookkeeping. For each of these topics a simple form was developed covering information related to the design of training materials. It was found during the workshop that the objectives content and selection of extension materials evolved in a continuing and dynamic process. Once the basic decisions were made about media specifications work began immediately on preparation of 1st draft prototypes. At regular intervals the teams presented the results of their work to the whole group for comments and suggestions. Using illustrations from other countries in the region a mini-lecture and discussion on pretesting techniques was carried out. This was followed by practice in the field with small farmer groups in Cigudeg Bogor. It was found that pretesting with farmers was one of the most valuable learning experiences of the workshop. Recommendations include the following: a media production schedule should be developed in cooperation with the National Agricultural Information Center; a meeting between senior Small Farmers Development Project (SFDP) staff and other concerned parties should be called to review the prototypes and determine priorities for follow-up action; discussions should be initiated with the staff of the Training Bureau and other trainers who will be involved in next years training for group organizers; and other media should be considered.