An 89% solution adoption rate at a two-year follow-up: evaluating the effectiveness of an animated agricultural video approach

Abstract

Securing the adoption of scalable agro-educational information and communication technology (ICT) solutions by farmers remains one of the international development community's most elusive goalsin part due to two key gaps in the data: (1) limited comparisons of competing knowledge-delivery methods, and (2) few to no follow-ups on long-term knowledge retention and solution adoption. Addressing both of these gaps, this follow-up study measures farmer knowledge retention and solution adoption two years after being trained on an improved postharvest bean storage method in northern Mozambique. The results found animated-video knowledge delivery at least as effective as a traditional extension approach for knowledge retention (97.9%) and solution adoption (89%). As animated video can more cost-effectively reach the widesteven geographically isolatedpopulations, it readily complements extension services and international development community efforts to secure knowledge transfer and recipient buy-in for innovations. Implications and future research for adult learning are also discussed. KEYWORDS Adoption and diffusion of IT and rate of uptake; development issues; scalable infrastructures for development; development Issues; sustainable development in developing and transition economies; development issues Significance statement This research demonstrates an effective and cost-efficient animated video strategy for securing longterm knowledge retention and increased solution uptake by solution recipients. At a two-year followup assessment of prior training, participant knowledge retention of the steps required for preparing and using an improved postharvest bean storage system was 97.9%, while the adoption rate for the improved storage method was 89%. Among the 104 participants, a total of 96 (92.3%) also reported telling an average 8.49 other farmers about the postharvest bean storage technique, while a total of 57 (54.8%) reported demonstrating the technique to an average 6.35 others.

Measuring the impact and reach of informal educational videos on YouTube: The case of Scientific Animations Without Borders

“…Nevertheless, there may be a link between the disproportion of affective evaluations by viewers, accentual differences between content creators' North American and British speech, and the basic insight of increased messaging appeal for recipients when delivered in their most comfortably spoken dialect ( Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1997 ; Rodríguez-Domenech et al., 2019 ). More broadly, given that engagement, learning gains, and solution uptake from animated educational contents are at least equal to, if not greater than, live-action teaching or video content ( Bello-Bravo, 2020 ; Bello-Bravo et al., 2020 ; Bello-Bravo et al., 2017a , Bello-Bravo et al., 2017b ; Smith et al., 2012 ), future research might compare the affective evaluations for YouTube's popularity metrics between animated, live-action, and combined animated/live-action channel content for individual video content creators (e.g., the Game Grumps, Markeplier, the Yogscast), whether self- or fan-created.…”

“…More broadly, given that engagement, learning gains, and solution uptake from animated educational contents are at least equal to, if not greater than, live-action teaching or video content (Bello-Bravo, 2020;Bello-Bravo, Abbott, Mocumbe et al, 2020;Bello-Bravo, Dannon, Zakari et al, 2017;Smith et al, 2012), future research might compare the affective evaluations for YouTube's popularity metrics between animated, live-action, and combined animated/live-action channel content for individual video content creators (e.g., the Game Grumps, Markeplier, the Yogscast), whether self-or fan-created.…”

Just participation or just participation? A participatory justice model for more successful theory of change design, implementation, and solution uptake

“…Because food security for all people is a participatory justice issue ( Altieri, 2004 ; United Nations, 2015 ), here we analyze a successful long-term change of behavior through participation in the solution-uptake of a novel jerrycan method for enhancing food security ( Bello-Bravo et al., 2020 ).…”

“…Development practitioners utilizing theory of change approaches ( Prinsen and Nijhof, 2015 ; USAID, 2017 ; Vogel, 2012 ) understand that in order for locally adapted solutions to be successfully adopted, local participation is necessary. Based on empirically verified solution-adoption successes ( Bello-Bravo et al., 2018a , 2020 ; Bello-Bravo and Pittendrigh, 2018 ), we argue in this paper that theory of change approaches can achieve greater solution adoption by focusing on just participation ( Anderson, 1998 ; Daré et al., 2014 ; Mansuri and Rao, 2013 ; Mkutu et al., 2019 ). This applies even when, and perhaps especially when, steeply hierarchical relationships are in play, as can often be the case in international development ( Lutomia et al., 2020 ).…”

“…All of the approaches, except the traditional extension training, measured statistically significant knowledge gains. At a follow-up two years later, farmers who had previously viewed the video had a 97% knowledge retention and an 89% adoption of the jerry-can storage method ( Bello-Bravo et al., 2020 ).…”