Sh. MUHAMMAD, T. E. LODHI and Gh. A. KHAN
University of Agriculture, Institute of Agriculture Extension and Rural Development, 38000, Faisalabad, Pakistan
MUHAMMAD, Sh., T. E. LODHI and Gh. A. KHAN, 2016. Farmers’ awareness of agri. Radio and TV broadcasts and their preferences for different formats in the Punjab, Pakistan. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 22: 513–516
The paper is a refl ection of farmers’ awareness about various avenues of agri. information available in terms of agri. radio/TV broadcasts besides looking into their preferences regarding various formats of the broadcasts. Awareness regarding agricultural radio and TV broadcasts can pave the way acquiring agricultural information thereby leading towards its subsequent adoption by farmers. Considering the signifi cance of electronic media in swift information delivery to the clienteles at larger scale, the study was conducted in three districts of the Punjab taken from various agro-ecological zones of the province. The study districts included Faisalabad (Mix cropping zone), Sheikhupura (Rice zone), and Rahim Yar Khan (Cotton zone). The data were collected with the help of a pretested and validated interview schedule. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The overall scenario revealed that the awareness of agri. radio broadcasts was very poor as a vast majority (80.3% and above) was quite unaware of agri. radio broadcasts. However, agri. TV broadcasts were relatively better in this regard. The most favourite formats of the broadcasts as perceived by the respondents were dramatic presentation (score value 556) followed by panel discussion (549) while straight talks were least preferred. For harnessing the maximum benefi ts from the agri. broadcasts the farmers should be made aware of the regular agri. radio/TV broadcasts. Moreover, it is also recommended that the producers of agri. radio/TV broadcasts should give the priority to the dramatic format of the agri. programme for creating interest among the farmers.