PhD

in

Electronic Media and Agriculture Development 

Electronic Media’s Recommendations

1. Existing TV Channel could introduce 7 days program in a week at fixed time on agriculture with good repetition.

1. TV Channel telecast agricultural programs could be on pictorial reporting,  success story, encouraging issues and disseminated regularly;

1. To open Specialized individual TV Channel and Radio station on agriculture: for this advocacy and lobbying can be arranged with government policy makers and private media initiators;

1. Go and NGO should be encouraged for establishing individual TV channel and Radio station;

1. Radio Centre could introduce more program in a day with special issues in agriculture with superior repetition;

1. Major suggestions to improve agricultural radio broadcasts were radio prorgrams should be more attractive and practical, frequency time of the program per week should be increased and agricultural programs should be broadcasted considering time and seasons relation with modern agriculture and demand driving process;

1. Establishment of alternative media for ensuring better of root level people. For this AIS with the help of MoA should work for establishing community TV and Radio for individual community;

1. Simultaneous programming for same issue or technology at a time from Radio, TV and cinema showing;

1. Give good emphasis on broadcasting and telecasting program;

1. Broadcast and telecast program depend on framer desired time (Evening and morning);

1. Establish Community radio in every essential point or corners;

1. Web Television and Web Radio may be established for 24 hours services;

1. All of the burning and ongoing issue should be covered when it is necessary;

1. E-agriculture & Community information technique follow as social practices;

1. Exchange of important program between all channels are highly appreciated;

1. Give top priority on agricultural weather, epidemic, disaster, natural calamities and other havoc situation.

1. In order to reach the large population mainly farmers living in the rural areas, following essential infra-structural development steps are to be taken for strengthening electronic media services to reaching grassroots level farmers in the country:

1. Electricity infrastructure should be strengthened and expended through out the country;

1. Telecommunication infrastructure should be liberalized and set up in the rural areas as early as possible;

1. Broadband internet backbone should be established in the rural areas with due priority;

1. Rural tele-centers should be established in the villages of Bangladesh with adequate information and communication technology infrastructure like requisite hardware, software, electricity, telecommunications and high bandwidth internet connectivity;

1. Initiative should be taken to provide alternative means of delivering information through CD ROMs;

1. Basic education should be provided and ensured to the rural people;

1. Efforts should be made to develop software and agricultural related information in local language preferably in Bengali;

1. Users of ICTs must be trained in use, application and maintenance of such tools;

1. Nation-wide Electronic Media systems should be implemented for rural development activities, agricultural, horticultural, fisheries and livestock extension for farmers, technological guidance for rural enterprises;

1. Non-government organizations should be encouraged to establish centers at the village level for providing hardware, software or other support services;

1. Electronic Media program should be planned in such a way which can easily understandable, reachable and beneficial to the farmers and rural people;

1. Devices of Electronic Media should be established in the rural market, Upazilla offices and grass-root level offices and accessible to the small holders in the village; and

1. Radio and television programs related to agriculture should be strengthened and dissemination must be ensured.

 

 

Ideas as Recommendations:

Enactment of a ‘Media Policy’, concerned with the real development of agriculture to benefit the farmers by facilitating them with proper efforts including agricultural inputs and information.

1. Opening a 24 hours agricultural channel as like National Geography, Discovery.

1. Set up of a complete community radio and agriculture oriented radio station.

1. Introduction of a media cell that includes farmers, farm labours, agricultural scientists, agriculture extension workers and media personals where all the professionals would exchange their view in regular basis.

1. Telecast more and more talk shows and live shows and present successful people in those programs and represent complicated agricultural technologies and methodology in an easier way

1. Facilitate the farmers with one stop service as though they get information of integrated agriculture including farm, livestock, fisheries, horticulture and nutrition from a rapid telecast.

1. Introduction of ‘Feedback System’ to make know the people about the result of delivered information.
2. Any agricultural technology should be telecasted and printed in television, radio, cell phone and newspaper at a time as though the farmers could get the information according to their demand.

1. Implementation of development communication in agriculture, after appropriating it in Bangladeshi context.

1. Represent the technical and complicated agricultural terms and methodology in an easier form for the farmers.

1. Agricultural universities have to incorporate appropriate syllabus of Agriculture mass communication (journalism) and facilitate the agriculturists with diploma and other trainings related to the subject.

1. Opening Media Club in every union and word to facilitate agricultural information to grass root level

1. Compulsory Agricultural Program Telecast Policy initiation to broadcast agricultural programs in regular basis and setting up a intra-channel close coordination following the programs.

1. To ensure technical, administrative and financial facilities for media to represent agriculture appropriately

1. Management of re-telecast of the news to facilitate the farmers.

 

Conclusion

Electronic Media has become an indispensable tool in fighting against world poverty. The importance of Electronic Media is recognized as a tool that serve the poor in rural areas who predominantly depend on agriculture by improving the access, quality and current relevance of information to support their livelihood and food security strategies.

 

In Bangladesh, mass electronic media like radio and television are widely used in disseminating agricultural information technology to the small farmers. Moreover, in the recent years mobile cellular phone is extensively used among the rural community.

The factors of slow process of dissemination of information depend on Electronic Media infrastructure, which is also defendant on the infrastructure of electricity and tele-communication. It is nearly impossible to establish Electronic Media infrastructure in rural areas of Bangladesh without proper development of electricity and tele-communication network.

Electronic Media is constantly changing. For the development of Agriculture, Electronic Media is an invaluable tool. The future initiatives for agricultural developments through Electronic Media in Bangladesh would be to achieve one of the main “Millennium Development Goals” developing a global partnership for development.

So we can conclude and recommend that by agricultural development we mean long-term sustainable development of the majority of the population of Bangladesh who live in rural areas particularly the womenfolk.

It is now evident that without building required agricultural development mindset of the decision makers in the government as well as the farmers engaged in the field, sustainable development in the sector will become simply a mirage.  It is only possible through using technology, the electronic media, to build the desired mindset, planning and implementation of the same which is urgent need of the hour.

 

As such, electronic media should persuade the peasants to utilize those benefits through information. It might tell him the story of merits, demerits, prospects and possibilities so that in turns the farmer can make the right choice to do things.

Programs like Talk Show, Live Show, and Game Show that interprets the complex ideas concerning agriculture in an easy and lucid ways to the farmers are still absent from the Television.

 

Fisheries, Livestock, Poultry, and Forestry need to be focused on collectively while broadcasting so that peasants might seize the ideas and concepts from a single program.