By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
A university don at Taraba State University, Dr. Stephen Victor Gana, has advocated the integration of media platforms into agricultural practice to enhance farmers’ productivity in Taraba State.
Gana, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, made this known on Wednesday, stating that his advocacy stems from a three-year research project he undertook during his Ph.D. programme at Glorious Vision University.
He explained that integrating digital and traditional media into agricultural development practices would improve the speed, reach, and effectiveness of information dissemination among farmers.
“The integration of media platforms into agricultural practice will enhance farmers’ productivity. It will significantly improve the speed, reach, and effectiveness of agricultural information dissemination among farmers in Taraba State.
“The idea for this advocacy was born out of my three-year Ph.D. research, motivated by growing concerns over persistent communication gaps between government agricultural agencies and farmers, particularly at the grassroots. It was a study to understand why many well-intentioned agricultural programmes and policies in Taraba often fail to achieve long-term impact,” he said.
The varsity don revealed that findings from his research identified “weak and poorly coordinated communication strategies” as a major barrier to effective information flow, leaving farmers disengaged and excluded from decision-making processes.
Dr. Gana called for a sustainable, farmer-centred strategic communication framework that combines traditional channels such as radio, extension services, and community meetings with modern digital tools for improved farming applications.
“A sustainable, farmer-centred strategic communication framework that combines traditional channels such as radio, extension services, and community meetings with modern digital tools will bridge the communication gaps between government agricultural agencies and farmers, particularly at the grassroots, and support easier access to farming applications.
“The inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, online partnership networks, and interactive digital feedback systems will further improve the sector.
“This blended approach will not only increase awareness but also promote timely information exchange, farmer participation, innovation adoption, and productivity across the agricultural value chain,” he added.
The university lecturer recommended regular communication audits of government agricultural programmes, as well as capacity building for extension officers and farmers in digital literacy to improve engagement.
He also called for the use of local languages to enhance message clarity and acceptance.
“Regular communication audits of government agricultural programmes, capacity building for extension officers and farmers in digital literacy, the establishment of interactive feedback mechanisms, and the use of local languages to enhance message clarity and acceptance will significantly improve the sector.
“Strategic partnerships between government, educational institutions, media organisations, and technology providers to strengthen agricultural communication infrastructure across the state would transform the agricultural sector and place Taraba on the global map of agro-development,” he stated.
If you would like, I can also tighten it further for newspaper column space or reshape it into a feature-style report.
