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Fitness of Farm Programs of Bangladesh Betar for Extension Services: a Field Study

Md. Mahedi Hasan
Research Fellow, Institute of Bangladesh Studies, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi; Bangladesh

Md. Nazrul Islam Mondal
Professor
Department of Population Science and Human Resource Development, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi; Bangladesh

Md. Nurul Islam
Professor
Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi; Bangladesh

Md. Aminul Hoque
Professor
Department of Agronomy and Agricultural Extension, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi; Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

For decades Bangladesh Betar (BB) has been developing and broadcasting farm programs for the betterment of the agriculture and the farming communities of Bangladesh. But the very problems addressed by the farm programs are still prevailing in agricultural sectors and the listeners of the programs of BB are gradually decreasing. So, the study was supposed to evaluate the fitness of the farm programs of BB whether they are able to convey right information at the right time in the right way to the right people. In this study document analysis, survey and Key Informant Interview (KII) methods were used to collect data and necessary information. A sample of 465 respondents was selected for questionnaire survey and a sample of 28 experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and Ministry of Information was selected for KII. The results revealed that the farm programs of BB deserved the very qualities of a perfect programs needed to provide extension services to the farmers of Bangladesh. But, there was a small but significant deviation in case of program schedule and formats. Schedule and format of the programs were not as per the choice of the farmers of Bangladesh. The farm programs are fit to convey right information to the right people but not at the right time and in the right way. Steps are to be taken to overcome the very loop holes pointed out by the farmers and the experts of the respected fields in order to ensure the perfection of the programs for the diffusion of the modern technologies in farming.

Keywords: Bangladesh Betar; Farm programs; Fitness of farm programs; Farmers of Bangladesh;

Location: Khulna and Rajshahi districts

Start Date: 00-06-2014

End Date: 00-09-2014

Program Area: Knowledge Management

Non-commodity: Analysis and interpretations

Objectives:

To measure the perfection of the farm programs of BB whether the programs are effective to provide right information to the right people in the right way at the right time.

Methodology:

Required data and information of the qualitative study were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected by means of document analysis, sample survey and key informant interview (KII) methods. For document analysis as a part of content analysis documents of Bangladesh Betar (BB) and other relevant organizations were analyzed. Questionnaire survey technique was used to collect primary data from the sampled respondents and for KII face-to-face interviews and telephonic interviews were conducted based on fixed checklist. There are twelve regional radio stations of BB. The agricultural programs broadcast from BB Dhaka are relayed by the regional stations and so the farm programs are all the same. There are a few programs developed and broadcast by the regional stations based on the needs of the particular regions; but formats and contents of the programs which are prescribed and approved by the head quarter (BB Dhaka) are almost same for all the stations. So, a single regional station can represent the whole of BB. This study purposively selected BB Khulna, and BB Rajshahi. The BB Khulna is one of the biggest radio stations covering the total of the south-west of Bangladesh and the BB Rajshahi is also one of the biggest radio stations that cover almost all of the northern part of Bangladesh. There are eighteen upazillas (sub-districts) in Khulna and Rajshahi districts (nine for each). In case of sampling, multistage stratified sampling technique was used. At the 1st stage, the study selected eight upazillas out of eighteen (four from each district) of Khulna and Rajshahi districts. At the 2^nd stage eight unions were selected from eight upazillas (one from each upazilla) and at the 3rd stage sixteen villages (two from each union) were selected. Finally at the 4th stage the 465 no. of farmers (respondents) were selected by means of random sampling technique from each village for the betterment of the research. For key information 28 key informants were selected from four departments under the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and Ministry of Information. In case of selecting the experts, two criteria were considered- field-level working experience, and involvement in broadcasting the farm programs. Through content analysis the program related information and data from BB Dhaka, BB Khulna and BB Rajshahi were collected. By means of survey method, 465 farmers were interviewed from June to September, 2014 to know about different aspects of the farm programs of BB and other information relevant to the research objectives. The KII was conducted within the time frame mentioned above with a view to verify the information for a comparative analysis. Secondary data were collected by means of content analysis of the documents collected from BB and other relevant organizations, viz., Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and Ministry of Information. The collected data were arranged and scrutinized cautiously in accordance with demonstrable indicators of the objectives. The processing steps were: editing, coding and classification. Descriptive analysis was done for estimating the required parameters. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for statistical analysis.

Source of Information: Indian Res. J. Ext. Edu. 16 (1):16-24, January, 2016

Article Link (Online Journal): http://seea.org.in/irjee/upload/v16103.pdf

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The study revealed that the farm programs of BB deserve the very qualities of a good programs needed to disseminate right information to the right people. But, the programs are short on conveying the information at the right time in the right way. Consequently, the farm programs failed to have beneficial effects on the target listeners to the full extent. The authority of BB has to take necessary initiatives to overcome the very loop holes pointed out by the farmers and experts of the respected fields in order to ensure the perfection of the programs. If the perfection of the programs could be ensured and the farmers could be stimulated to listen to the programs then the farm programs would be one of the best alternatives to provide extension services to the farmers of Bangladesh for the diffusion of the modern technologies of farming.

Knowledge Management: Journal