The web and electronic media play very important roles in the dissemination of agricultural information. This is because they reach a wide range of audience at a very fast rate.
The channels serve as a veritable instrument not only for information dissemination, but also for stimulating farmers’interest in new ideas and practices in agriculture.
To this end, efforts to make Nigeria food secure received a major boost following the launch of an agribusiness platform to offer information to farmers across the country.
Entitled ”Power Empire Agribusiness Reality TV show, the founder, Preeminence Experts Business School Limited, Osarhiemen Iserhienrhien, said it was meant to bridge the huge gap information dissemination to players in the agriculture and agri-business sub-sectors.
Iserhienrhien said the programme was designed to encourage young Nigerians to participate in agribusiness.
On how the idea of the business came about, he said: “As an undergraduate, I decided that I was not would be an employee. This was how I started out in business. As I grew in the business of consulting, I knew it would be a wise decision to establish some businesses; so, I ventured into agriculture and e-commerce. The show focuses on all aspects of agriculture, such as crop production, animal production, marketing, strategy and other activities in the agricultural value chain.’’
Iserhienrhien, who has been in the industry for more than 15 years, said the programme has attracted a large audience.
Iserhienrhien is seeking to partner stakeholders in the agriculture value chain – farming, production, processing, marketing and consumption of food and other farm produce – on how to boost the subsector.
Iserhienrhien is not alone in this pursuit in West Africa. A Mauritian, Nawsheen Hosenally and her Burkanibe journalist husband have co-founded Agribusiness TV. Content for the channel is viewed through the website where short video stories about successful youth entrepreneurs who have careers in agriculture are uploaded.
A graduate of Agricultural Extension and Information Systems, she wanted to do something to redeem the image of agriculture among youths.
With the aid of their mobile phones, apps, YouTube and Facebook, Hosenally is changing the face of farming across Africa. More youths are tuning to Agribusiness TV for inspiration and farming tips.
According to her, the impact that the initiative is having on lives is quite remarkable
SOURCE: THE NATION
