Farmer to Farmer - Tajikistan

After a period of participatory audience research (including focus groups made up of male and female farmers), a senior radio producer and former TV producer drew up production guidelines and notes on planning and producing radio packages. Staff members were trained in radio production techniques, were taught to recognise the strengths and limitations of radio as a medium, and were counselled in ways to present information clearly.

The programme mainly contains light entertainment and music. The information that is provided addresses non-controversial technical questions, but will eventually cover more difficult areas.

Agriculture.

Farmers in Tajikistan have only recently begun to farm with a measure of independence from the state and collective farms of the Soviet era. They are challenged by: breakdown of the rural Soviet infrastructure, lack of effective structures to support private farming, lack of finances, corruption, poor rule of law, and severe drought. Moreover, farmers do not have reliable sources of information about even basic technical aspects of farming. Most of the rural population relies for its basic livelihood on self-production on household plots of land. A 'dekhon farm' is generally either a small to medium-size family farm (2-50 hectares), or a large 'collective dekhon farm' or 'dekhon association' (50 to 500 hectares).

At present, there are no independent national television or radio stations in Tajikistan. Although freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution, one clause prevents the broadcasting or publishing of any information that defames the president or the country. Tajik Radio, then, is essentially an arm of the state, with no public service responsibility. In this atmosphere, journalists exercise self-censorship, and have little understanding of the need for programme research, no real experience of establishing facts or analysing issues objectively, and have not been trained to write effectively for radio audiences. Tajik radio managers claim that they do not have the resources to record reports outside the capital or to research themes in any depth.

In the initial stages of the project, the European Union Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States (EU TACIS) provided Tajik Radio with uncut radio materials for broadcast. These materials focused on legal information, relevant presidential and government decrees with commentary, information on the work of agencies supporting the development of agriculture, advice on farming techniques and environmental issues, and information on livestock epidemics. Most of these materials were in the form of interviews with consultants from international agencies and speeches given by agricultural specialists at seminars. Apart from the question-and-answer programmes on farm management, there was little emphasis on making the programmes relevant and accessible to farmers.

In a follow-up survey of the developed programme, listeners found the radio series clear and accessible, but some claimed that the programmes were overly complicated, were not dynamic enough, or were limited in perspective. In this context, future efforts will include a review of the audience research process (with a focus on ensuring the participation of women), further training for the radio producers (in conducting interviews and editing), stimulus for farmers to work together to find solutions (in terms of seeking success stories for broadcast), a structured, well-researched promotional campaign (perhaps in a TV commercial), and back-up written materials (leaflets or calendars for farmers).