Utilization of Communication Media in the Process of Extension to Develop Farm Business at Minahasa District North Sulawesi Province

Abstract

Government’s target to provide animal protein needs of Indonesian society consumptin is a driving force in improving farm bussiness. One factor that must be considered to improve the farm business is the availability of adequate information. Lack of communication and dissemination of adequate information would impede the achievement of sustainable business. In the eld of animal husbandry, the dissemination of information is done through extension by using the media as a communication tool, are very helpful for breeders in acquiring innovations and solutions to improve system maintenance thus increasing the welfare of farmers. Communication extention is an activities of extention in which the counseling process requires expertise and communication skills of an instructor in conveying information. At Minahasa, each instructor handle 3-4 villages with very minimal competence . These limitations can be overcome by using communication media that help spread information wider to reach farmers. The purpose of this research is to describes the communication media used by instructor in providing information to farmers. The aim of this study describes the use of media of communication by extention agents in providing information to breeders. The media of communication used are electronic media (radio and TV) and printed media (Newspapers and brochures), these medias are the variables analyzed descriptively with presentation model. The study’s result indicated that electronic media (TV and radio) was the most effective media used as source of information.