The Case for a Two-Step Approach to Agricultural Campaign Design

By Jennifer Ihm, Macarena Pena-Y-Lillo, Katherine R Cooper, Yannick Atouba, Michelle Shumate, Julia Bello-Bravo, Niango Malick Ba, CléMentine L Dabire-Binso, Barry Robert Pittendrigh

Development campaigns designed to scale up effective agricultural solutions often rely on media. Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) proponents argue that increased media penetration is necessary for such campaigns to succeed. Interviews of 63 extension agents and 200 farmers in Burkina Faso about their disparities in media ownership, access, skills, and preferences suggest that agricultural development campaigns should account for the different media environments and preferences of target populations within countries. This research presents such an alternative approach, a two-step campaign design intended to address digital divides within countries and target population preferences.