Impact of the broadcast media commercialisation on agriculture and rural development in Nigeria

The paper examines the impact of broadcast media commercialisation on agriculture and rural development in Nigeria. It highlights the importance of radio and television in the dissemination of agricultural technology and other useful information for rural development to the teeming farm families across the country, in complementing the ineffective extension services. However, the paper observed that inspite of the immense contributions of the broadcast media to agriculture and rural development, the commercial nature of the media industry now posed a serious challenge to this development. Hence, it is recommended that the federal government through Nigerian broadcasting commission should legislate on free air time for all agricultural and rural development programmes on radio and television in the country. Also, seasoned agricultural communicators should be employed to serve as gate keepers for agricultural programmes in the broadcast stations.