Analysis of Current Development Communication and Its Role for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

This study analyses the current development communication strategies and their roles in sustainable agricultural development. Communication is at the heart of any development effort since it is the glue that binds people to development and is regarded as a prerequisite to maintaining the sustainability of development. To this end, the present study researched the communication strategy employed by extension service providers in communicating with farmers in the Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia. In applying a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, data have been gathered using a mix of instruments, including surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, document reviews, and observations. The theoretical premises of diffusion of innovation and participatory development communication theories were used to guide the collection and analysis of data. The survey involved a proportionate sample of 364 farm households that were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. A pre-tested, semi-structured interview schedule was administered to collect primary data, and descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis (t-test and chi-square test) were employed for analysis. The study involved three focus group discussions with model farmers, nine state extension agents, four senior researchers from Wolaita Sodo University, three research staff from the Areka Agricultural Research Centre, four project managers, and three field workers from non-governmental organisations. Various agricultural development policy and strategy documents have been reviewed to understand how the current policy and strategy support development communication practises. Findings revealed that co-farmers, family members, extension agents, and community meetings were the most preferred sources, and media channels have not also been extensively used by farmers for agricultural purposes. The potential of the most important mass media outlets in farmers’ contexts (radio and mobile phones) is not being utilised for agricultural purposes. It was also found that extension service providers lack a specific and well-framed communication strategy, and the communication approach currently in use tends to be linear and top-down in the case of state extension and research institutions while situation-specific in the case of non-governmental organisations. The study found that communication is a missing link in the current extension system and the most overlooked aspect among development organisations. Several factors have contributed to this low usage of communication. The document review revealed that the current policies are not communication sensitive in the sense that sufficient attention is not given to communication. Furthermore, there is also misalignment between policy and practise in various instances. This leads to the conclusion that the communication strategy currently in use limits the potential role of communication in enhancing agricultural development and ensuring its sustainability. To improve this, this study issued recommendations for the government and development organisations to work on rural facilities and establish information systems that consider the farmers’ situation: information should be available through the sources used by the farmers, considering how the messages are best suited to their context; mass media channels should be encouraged to produce agricultural news and programmes; the use of mobile phones should be promoted among farmers; and agricultural communication strategies and approaches that trigger an easy flow of information should be designed and used by extension service providers. Besides, due attention should be given to revisiting the current agricultural development policies in relation to communication so as to exploit the potential of communication to ensure sustainable agricultural development in Ethiopia.