RADIO AS A TOOL FOR ENHANCING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT INNIGERIA: PERISCOPAL STUDY OF RADIO NIGERIA, UNITY FM, ABAKALIKI,EBONYI STATE.

The growing concern about the declining condition of agricultural production and development in Nigeria due to the emergence of oil informed the decision to embark on this study to discover better ways to reclaim the lost glory through enhanced agricultural production using radio. The researchers examined the role and influence of radio in enhancing farming operations, especially in Ebonyi State. Some agricultural programmes on Radio Nigeria, Unity FM, Abakaliki such as Oge Ndi Oru Ubi, Food Basket, Fadama Three and more lately the programme tagged Farmers’ Round Table were carefully studied. The study adopted survey research in which four hundred questionnaires were distributed to farmers in Ikwo, Izzi and Ohaozara Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State. Development Media Theory was found suitable for the study. After the necessary data was collected, presented and analyzed it was discovered that the agricultural programmes on Radio Nigeria, Unity FM, Abakaliki were effective in educating, mobilizing and enlightening farmers on modern farming practice and also proved to be the most potent tool for agricultural development in Ebonyi State. The researchers therefore recommended that the federal government should establish separate radio stations as an arm of Radio Nigeria in each of the six geo-political zones of the country to be responsible for agricultural broadcasting programmes using indigenous languages and that Radio Nigeria, Unity FM, Abakaliki should develop more participatory agricultural programmes involving the farmers in some of its programmes using bottom-up approach.