*Mohammad Reza Nazari & Abu Hassan Hasbullah
Abstract:
The radio is a powerful communication tool. It has proved to be the most effective media in promoting agriculture and development in rural areas, particularly as a tool for the delivery of quick information. A quasi-experimental study was designed to determine the effectiveness of the radio as an educational media to transfer agricultural information to farmers. A total of 161 subjects were selected randomly from Fars province, Iran. After determining educational goals of study, a questionnaire was prepared for the pre- and post-tests. Based on educational content, a radio programme was produced on fighting against agricultural pests, and the correct method of using agricultural poisons. Participants responded to the pre -test one week before broadcasting the radio programme through the provincial broadcast centre of Fars. The post-test was conducted after broadcasting the radio programme. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents were male (91.3%) and married (81%). About 14.9% of the respondents were illiterate with most being between 41 – 50 years old (28.9%); 68.3% believed that producing suitable agricultural programmes in the language and culture of the region could be very effective. The findings of the study also show that educational intervention through radio resulted in significant knowledge enhancement (3.99 to 6.41 out of 10). These results clearly indicate the effective role of radio in improving awareness of farmers (p∠0.001). Radio remains a vital part of development and farming systems; agricultural education intervention programmes will be more fruitful if they are conveyed through the radio. Such programmes should result in heightened farmer awareness.
Keywords:Media, radio, education, agriculture