Assessment of Media Coverage of Agricultural Activities in Promoting Food Security among Small Scale Farmers in Kisumu West Sub-County: A Case of PurMariek Program on Radio Nam Lolwe 101.5 FM

Abstract

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an
active and healthy life.Media in Kenya has been in the forefront publicizing agricultural
information that purpose to promote food security.Using a case of PurMariek program on Radio
Nam Lolwe 101.5 FM, a commercial vernacular radio station, the study sought to establishthe
extent to which media coverage of agricultural activities contributes to food security
(availability, accessibility, utilization and stability) by investigating whether farmersapply
information from the mediain their practice and also whether the information from media
adequately addresses the four food security dimensions.Using the agenda setting and diffusion of
innovation theories, the study done in Kisumu West Sub-County adopted mixed qualitative and
quantitative research methods to collect data through questionnaires and in-depth interviews.
The data was analyzed and presented as frequency distribution bar and pie charts and
narrations from which conclusions and recommendations were made.The study established that
the adoption of media message ishindered by poverty, as the majority of rural farmers are not
able to afford high costs of farm inputsfeatured on the program.Also, the program segments are
prerecorded hence limits interaction between farmers and experts. To make media messages
more effective in promoting food security, the researcher recommended that relevant
stakeholders including the media, farmers and policy makers work together and collaborate
more. This is in addition to having more live sessions of the program rather than pre-recorded
segments to increase chances for interactions during the shows.
Keywords: Food Security, food accessibility, food availability, food utilization, food stability,
purMariek, food security pillars