This month of October, we witnessed a great premiere at the diffusion of the first ever 3D cartoon, made by a Malagasy team, on agroecology in Madagascar. This innovation is part of the Manitatra II project, integration of agroecology in schools, implemented by the GSDM and is funded by the European Union through the CMESA.
Since 2017, the GSDM has been working on the integration of agroecology in schools. It is a learning process of agroecology and environmental education, for the benefit of young schoolchildren, in the face of environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. So far, the number of direct beneficiaries is 6799 students and 74 trained teachers for 20 middle schools. But why such an initiative?
“Becoming farmers also means succeeding in life”
The labor market is becoming increasingly saturated as it is estimated that between 400,000 to 500,000 young people are entering the job market each year. A phenomenon that aggravates unemployment and underemployment. It is then imperative to find new ways, new sources of jobs for the young Malagasy generation. Indeed, one of the objectives of this cartoon, and of the Manitatra II project in general, is to motivate young students to turn to agriculture. “This cartoon wants to show young people that they don’t have to become a gendarme, a doctor, a teacher or a lawyer to succeed in life. Becoming a farmer also means succeeding in life,” according to the GSDM communications manager. And this is all the more relevant in a country where 80 to 90% of its population lives in rural areas.
Education in reverse or when children teach parents
This may surprise you, but it is an empirical result of the actions carried out by the GSDM in the field. Indeed, in the Manitatra II project, it was found that children who had been educated in agroecology passed on their knowledge to their parents. This arouses parents’ interest in agroecology and thus facilitates their training in the various techniques. So, in response to this interest from parents and students, farm schools were set up to serve as demonstration sites.
This 3D cartoon is then added to the GSDM’s pedagogical tools to teach agroecology in schools and thus further reinforce the impacts of the Manitatra II project. And to address rural challenges, in this case the lack of electricity and viewing tools, the GSDM plans to organize and set up viewing centers to allow students, as well as parents, to view the cartoon. If you too want to watch and share this famous cartoon, please follow the following link