WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT?

Agriculture is no doubt the most crucial sector in the Indian economy. It contributes approx 20 percent to GDP approx 65 percent of the population indulges in the agriculture sector. Yet, despite being an essential sector, it remains in valueless condition due to improper planning and aimless policies.

Media is the important 4th pillar of Indian democracy. This is because it has vast powers to communicate news to the general public.

Role Of Media In Agriculture 

The Indian constitution has given immense power to the Indian media regarding freedom of the press. The role of the media is to create opportunities for farmers to express themselves directly on the air. This is the only way that they will have a say and therefore participate in the decision process. But there are a lot of difficulties as it is not an easy task and agriculture is a complex procedure and needs specialization too. let us discuss every aspect of the media’s role in agricultural development.

The poor condition of farmers and people indulging in the agriculture sector is a serious concern. It shall be the duty of policymakers to look into this matter. Media can play a vital role as the link between farmers and policymakers. Media can give a platform to the farmers to express their concerns and communicate with the policymakers. Part of the media is limited to providing a platform to the farmers, but it plays a vital role in raising questions related to farmers directly to the government. Media can also spread awareness to the agro population regarding agricultural policies and products.

Agricultural news is very famous among Indian farmers. Media can play an essential role in giving information through advertisements so that farmers can avoid unnecessary expenses. For example, there are lots of tractors available in the market at affordable rates, such as Swaraj 735. This kind of information can also be communicated through mainstream media. Reporting on agriculture is primarily restricted to natural disasters, food shortages, and rising food prices. Some argue, however, that the media has a broader role in raising the profile of agriculture amongst decision-makers and the wider public and in communicating farmers’ needs. In this blog, we will discuss the serious challenges for the media in agricultural news coverage and try to find out the solutions.

Challenges Before Media In Agricultural Reporting

As we discussed above, the role of media in agricultural development has lots of challenges. Agricultural reporting is not an easy task. Media runs on TRP, and it needs breaking news. If we compare agricultural information from other mainstream news, agrarian news is less prevalent. Journalists may not find the stardom and popularity in an agrarian statement. Still, he can be famous in a day in some other masala news. The paid journalist in reporting agricultural news is significantly less, but if he goes with other political news, he gets far more pay than agrarian news. So it isn’t easy in agricultural reporting.

If the media wants to cover agricultural news, they have to go to rural areas to cover that news, which will be costly and time-consuming.

Agricultural information can be given which can help farmers to enhance their productivity. For example, effective tractors are available at reasonable rates in the market such as Swaraj 963 tractor. But the problem is advertising runs on the paid mode in media so the company which produces more to get the chance to advertise their products. Furthermore, less representation of farmers in governmental platforms is also a serious concern because their problems never reached the policymakers. So now let’s discuss the solutions to these issues.

How To Solve These Issues?

Now the question arises how to solve these issues? It can resolve by training journalists, regarding agriculture to understand the subject matter in a better way. Media companies need to provide sufficient resources to the journalist to engage with the agricultural news. Journalists should get good pay, so they can encourage to cover this particular area. The government also should give financial rewards to the journalists to enable them to cover this essential sector.

The most critical solution to these concerns is to take farmers’ feedback seriously, to improve their condition, it will result in boosting the Indian economy and GDP. The journalists are not as experts as agricultural journalists or any particular discipline. So scientists should play a more active role in simplifying their research findings, making it easier for journalists to interpret and report on such agricultural research. Agricultural news should get prime time on television so that it can reach more people.

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