Role of Media in Agriculture Development

Communication for agriculture is also not seen as a major priority at either national or international level and the role of the media as an effective player in agricultural and rural development is undervalued. Reporting on agriculture is largely restricted to natural disasters, food shortages and rising food prices. The media has a potentially broader role in raising the profile of agriculture amongst decision-makers as well as the wider public, and in communicating farmers ’needs. The media is crucial in helping farmers access the information that they need and transmitting their concerns. The mainstream media personnel made it very clear they are about breaking news; they are not about partnering with, nor facilitating the agricultural sector. Traditionally the use of the media has been about communicating research messages when there are success stories in particular. They are in quite a unique position, potentially being the voice of policymakers, the voice of farmers, the voice of researchers. They potentially can be quite a powerful catalyst for change. The media needs to be engaged more as a partner at the beginning, during the work and at the end and not as a special invitee to events, seminars and openings one of the major challenges is resource constraint. If the media have to go to the rural areas to cover agriculture, it is very costly, and most of the media lack resources. Major problem is really that of capacity. The media are not built to fully understand this complex issue that we are dealing with i.e. agriculture. National governments should promote rural and agricultural development in a more active, concrete way to give the necessary equipment and financial rewards to the media, to go and report on agricultural subjects.