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DRAWING A BETTER WORLD
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FIND OUT HOW
TO HELP US
PUSH TO PLAY
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SAWBO PORTRAIT: RICARDO MARIA (PH.D. CANDIDATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA)
My name is Ricardo Maria. I am originally from the Zambezia Province in central Mozambique. I received my first degree from Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo in the field of Rural Engineering. Since 1994, I have been working as a Research Scientist for the Institute for Agricultural Research of Mozambique (IIAM). During this time, I have been fortunate enough to receive my M.S. degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (2004; Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science) and I am currently working on my Ph.D. in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
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My primary research deals with soil fertility and I work with a wide range of crops, including beans, cassava, maize, sorghum, and pigeon peas. In my research program I work with farmers directly; we perform on farm research and experiments with different options to manage their soil and to maximize their crop production. We test, in collaboration with the farmers, different types of fertilizers, crop rotation strategies and a variety of other approaches that will help them to increase their yields while minimizing their cost inputs into their crops.
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Since 2014, I have been integrating the agricultural animations of Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) into my extension and outreach programs. During what we call Farmer Field Days (FFD), the farmers analyze experimental plots, discuss possible outcomes and finally they view SAWBO’s educational animations.
Sometimes we hold these meetings in a classroom, other times the team goes to a shaded area to set up the projector and speakers on a generator. A microphone speaker system is also set up for farmers to give their feedback and continue discussions within the group between the viewings of different animations.
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Local music is also played between animations, where dancing sometimes occurs. Typically, 60-70 women, men and children will often attend the programs. The animations help generate considerable amounts of excitement amongst the farmers and increases their knowledge of the given topic.
I see the power in these animations to generate interest in attending our meetings. We find that more people show up because they know we are going to show the animations. It also increases the amount and quality of discussions that occur in the groups where we work. I have found that the SAWBO animations are powerful tools to increase the impact of my extension efforts.
In the future, I hope to capitalize knowledge gained in some of my other closely related soil health projects, supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), through CAB International (CABI) and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), and apply this to my extension efforts with the SAWBO animations.
Photo Credits
Photos (A) and (C) courtesy of Dr. Robert Mazur
Photo (B) courtesy of Dr. Ebby Luvaga
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