Influence of mass media promoted agricultural programmes on arable crop production in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

In the past, much of extension worker's activities were done through face-to-face contacts - a tedious and time consuming approach. There is therefore, need to shift from this traditional method of reaching farmers to a more effective, faster and wider means to cover a wide spectrum of clientele. Hence, the study assessed the influence of mass media promoted agricultural programmes on arable crop production in Ezza North L.G.A of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 120 respondents using structured questionnaire. Data collected using primary source were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that majority (72%) of the farmers were males with a mean age of 41 years, and a mean annual farm income of N380, 000. The major mass media available in the area were radio (98%) and television (92%). The most mass media promoted agricultural programmes in the area were One-Man-One hectare (97%), Covid-19 support loan (90%), and AGSMEIS loan (82%). With the coefficient of multiple determinations (R2) of 0.867, it was observed that mass media promoted agricultural programmes have significant influence on arable crop production in the study area. However, high cost of devices, inadequate capital, lack ICT skills, peer group influence, language barrier, cultural barrier, poor infrastructural development, policy inconsistency, time of programme broadcast, and limited coverage of media waves were identified as the major constraints in the use of mass media in enhancing arable crop production in the study area. The study recommended for improved agricultural extension services delivery to farmers on the effective utilization of mass media for agricultural production.