Agricultural extension and mass media
Perraton, H.
Media in Education and Development 15(4): 159-162
1982
Document Number: 424552
In practice, mass media have, for years, been used by and with extension services. Agricultural broadcasting goes back to the 1930s, and many extension departments also run agricultural information services. However, little is known about their effectiveness. This is a brief report of a World Bank-sponsored study of the use of mass media for agricultural extension, and also of a broader UNESCO-aided study of the work of two units, INADES-Formation in West Africa, and the Extension Aids Branch of Malawi. The main conclusions are that: (1) a variety of media can be effective in supporting agricultural extension; (2) mass media have been little used for training agricultural extension agents, and this could be of great value; (3) there is scope for considerable educational radio improvement; and (4) INADES-Formation shows that the gulf between adult education and agricultural extension can be bridged.