Dissemination and Implementation of Agricultural Innovations Using Video on Mobile Phones in Mali

A challenge for researchers and other developers of new technologies in agriculture is to find ways of communicating their results and recommendations. This challenge is particularly acute in regions in which farmers have limited access to education and where illiteracy is widespread, such as in the rural areas of Mali. One approach that shows potential, yet remains largely unused by extension services, is the dissemination of educational video on mobile phones with video and Bluetooth technology, which are widespread in the region. This paper aims to explore the potential of video on mobile phones as a tool for farmer-to-farmer exchange and agricultural extension in Western Africa, starting from the experiment of three videos showing agricultural innovations which were shown and shared with 200 farmers in twelve villages in Mali. The paper was presented at the 12th European IFSA Symposium (Workshop: "ICT to help on participatory approaches for the agroecological transition of agriculture") in 2016.