Spread the word about agriculture extension on digital platforms

A training course on improving skills in drafting, recording, and editing videos for agricultural extension was held in Vi Thanh City  (Hau Giang province) on April 12. On this occasion, Vo Xuan Tan, Director of Hau Giang Agricultural Extension Center required that propaganda work and agricultural extension must be brought up to digital platforms.

The training course was co-organized by Hau Giang Agricultural Extension Center and the Representative Office of Vietnam Agriculture News in the Mekong Delta Region. The course attracted the attention of 30 trainees who are agriculture extension staff coming from affiliate centers and stations.

During the one-week training course, they will be trained on both theories and practices of using software and smart devices to edit videos of farming techniques and publish them on digital platforms.

Mr. Vo Xuan Tan, Director of Hau Giang Agricultural Extension and Agricultural Service Center, said that the undergoing communication work was very important for agricultural extension activities. Hau Giang Agricultural Extension Center, apart from building models, organizing seminars, workshops and forums, also promoted information sharing at present on platforms that apply digital technology.

The website "www.khuyennonghaugiang.com.vn" serves as a great example of methods to convey information regarding activities of the agricultural sector and the province's agricultural extension center, as well as technical advances in agricultural production. Another page is "nongsanaugiang.com.vn" which specializes in promoting and introducing key agricultural products and local strengths while providing support to manufacturers to develop and apply agro-product traceability.

In addition, the center has worked with news and media agencies including Vietnam Agriculture News to propagate agriculture advisory services and introduce advanced farming techniques to farmers. "However, using videos for propaganda project is a new trend and this is the most effective way at the moment. Digital transformation in agriculture requires propaganda work and agricultural extension to be launched on digital platforms," Tan said, adding that the center created a YouTube channel named Hau Giang Agricultural Extension ("Khuyến nông Hậu Giang" in Vietnamese) to publish these videos.

As planned, Hau Giang Agricultural Extension Center will organize the contest "Producing videos for agricultural extension 2022". The competition will have 9 teams including one provincial-level center and eight grass-root level stations. The training course aimed at helping the trainees master the skills of producing attractive videos for agricultural extension.

"The training course or the workshop can be open to only a certain number of participants. However when the study materials of agricultural extension that come in the form of videos are published on digital platforms and on multiple social media they will quickly generate spillover effects and be accessible to many people anytime and anywhere. With this propaganda channel farmers can access to useful information and use it more effectively," Director of Hau Giang Agricultural Extension Center Vo Xuan Tan stated.