Abstract

Advocacy for the use of the entertainment industry to stimulate youths’ interest in agriculture has been gaining momentum globally. Nigeria’s agriculture ministry recently launched an initiative in that regard using the reality television format. There is however, scarcity of information on the success of the initiative. This study, therefore, investigated the viewership of Naija Farmer Reality show among agricultural undergraduates in Oyo State. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 280 undergraduate students for the study. Information was garnered on personal characteristics, awareness, viewership, and constraints affecting viewership of Naija farmer reality show. Data was analysed using frequency counts, percentages, Chi-square and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at 0.05 significance level. Findings indicated that the majority (64.6%) of the students were between the ages of 19 and 24 years. Most (53.6%) were female, single (92.2%) and unaware of the show (58.2%), while majority (57.9%) did not view the show. Among those that watched, 59.8% knew about it on social media, 89.9% preferred watching it on YouTube and 50.7% had wide viewership. While inability to purchase data was a major constraint (weighted score of 78.2) to viewership of the programme. It was deduced that students were not aware of Naija Farmer Reality Show hence, did not view it. Although those that did, prefer to watch on YouTube channel. Therefore, subsequent editions of the show should be publicised by the producers among agricultural undergraduates by exploring all social media platforms and popular streaming platforms to boost viewership of the show.

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