Farmers’ propensity to use reality television shows for information on climate-smart agriculture strategies in southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Reality Television Show (RTS), an emerging variant of entertainment education, is renowned for its popularity among audiences all over the world, making it a great medium for conveying targeted educational messages to specific audiences. However, it is yet to be exploited for disseminating agriculture-related concepts such as Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). Therefore, this study examined farmers’ propensity to use RTS for information on CSA strategies in southwestern Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 121 farmers for this study. Using an interview schedule, data were collected on farmers’ socio-economic characteristics, sources of information on climate change and CSA, awareness of RTS, perceived constraints, and the propensity of its use for information on climate-smart agriculture strategies. Data were analysed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means) and inferential (PPMC) statistics at p = 0.05. Farmers were mostly male (55.4%), smallholders (1.6 ± 1.3 ha), and aged 44.9 ± 12.7 years. While most of the farmers (66.0%) used television as a source of information, none of them (0.0%) were aware of any Nigerian RTS used to promote agriculture. The most severe perceived constraints to the use of RTS were poor network reception eception ( x ̄= 161.2), unstable power supply ( x ̄= 160.3), lack of sponsorship ( x ̄= 156.2), sustainability of the show ( x ̄= 154.6) and language barrier ( x ̄= 147.1). The majority of the farmers (69.4%) had a high propensity to use RTS for information on CSA. Farmers’ perceived constraints (r = −0.196) significantly correlated with their propensity to use RTS for information on CSA. Agricultural development communicators should focus on using this Entertainment-Education (EE) format in promoting climate-smart agriculture.