Communicating Agricultural Information for Development: The Role of the Media in Zimbabwe

Abstract

AbstractThe success of agricultural development programmes in developing countries largely depends on the nature and extent of the use of mass media in the mobilisation of people for development. The media, which offers unique opportunities to disseminate information, can play an important role in informing citizens about social, academic, and economic issues, amongst others. This is also true in the agricultural sector. Radio for example, is an inexpensive medium, and therefore enjoys a wide range of diffusion, even among rural and less literate people who have access to fewer information resources. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the print and electronic media sources are contributing to the communication of information relating to agricultural development in Zimbabwe. A questionnaire was distributed to all media houses in Zimbabwe. The results indicate that there is a significant coverage, by the media, of issues relating to agriculture and the agriculture industry. The broadcast media in particular, make efforts to reach out to a range of audiences who speak minority languages such as Kalanga, Venda, Sotho, Doma, Yao, and Shangaan. However, the media face challenges, including a lack of subject specialists, language barriers, constraints on financial and material resources, and poor road infrastructure that inhibits travelling. This study recommends training, short courses on agriculture reporting, and courses that provide information on the available resources to improve the quality of news and information regarding agriculture-related issues reaching mainly rural audiences of farmers in Zimbabwe.