Ratio: 4 / 5

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note22

Introduction 

The rapid spread of television (TV) channels offers a unique opportunity to disseminate knowledge via private and public information systems to millions of farmers within a short period of time. When agricultural themes and messages are woven into entertaining shows that use popular actors, comedians, and cartoon characters, information reaches out to a much wider audience who might not necessarily be interested in agriculture. Youths are becoming more interested in agriculture through watching reality TV shows that follow the lives of young food producers and stories of farmer ‘superheroes’, making these topics entertaining and at the same time educational, hence the term ‘edutainment’. Edutainment via TV is reaching a widespread audience in the comfort of their homes, creating a passion for farming, and delivering information on vital new technologies to farmers. Edutainment TV shows are aired in several countries (Table 1). All these examples except Farmers Love Safety are produced by private sector players. 

Table 1. Examples of edutainment TV programmes 

Title 

About the show 

Country 

First Time Farmers 

Chronicles youth who are trying their hand at the family business 

United Kingdom 

Shamba Shape Up

Involves visits to small-scale farmers with experts or other farmers to advise them on how to improve agricultural productivity on their farms – presented by popular Kenyan actors 

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda 

Seeds of Gold 

Disseminates information on new agricultural technology – production, marketing, and value-addition – to current and potential farmers within and outside the country 

Kenya 

Farmed and Dangerous  

Promotes the importance of food safety and sustainable farming – the Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle has created an original entertainment show that both presents a message and earns income from advertisements placed by other companies 

United States 

Farmers Love Safety 

Promotes sustainable growth in agricultural production and improved rice value chains to provide farmers with better knowledge on production inputs and access to markets 

Thailand 

Hridoye Mati O Manush 

Covers all aspects of agriculture, its problems, possibilities, and ways of improving farmers’ livelihoods 

Bangladesh