Empowering Farmers: The Impact of SBCC in Agriculture

In a country where over 50% of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, getting the right information to the right farmer at the right time can mean the difference between a failed harvest and a flourishing one. This is precisely where Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) steps in. Far from being limited to health campaigns, SBCC has emerged as a powerful force in Indian agriculture, using mass media tools like radio and television to help millions of farmers adopt modern, scientific practices. The results speak for themselves – from barren wastelands turning green to entire communities breaking free from outdated methods that held back their productivity for generations.

What is SBCC and why does it matter in agriculture?
The role of mass media in agricultural SBCC
Kisan Vani: agriculture on the airwaves
DD Kisan: agriculture on the screen
The story of Hema Ananth: SBCC in action
How SBCC bridges traditional and modern agriculture
SBCC’s impact on food security and farmer livelihoods
Challenges and the road ahead

What is SBCC and why does it matter in agriculture?

Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) is the strategic use of communication approaches to promote changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms, beliefs, and behaviours. It goes beyond simply giving people information. SBCC works by creating a supportive environment where individuals feel motivated and equipped to adopt new, beneficial practices – and, crucially, to sustain them over time.

While SBCC is widely recognised for its role in public health – think vaccination drives or sanitation campaigns – its application in agriculture is equally significant. Indian farmers, especially those in remote rural areas, often lack access to the latest knowledge about scientific farming, market prices, weather forecasts, and government welfare schemes. Traditional extension services, where government officers visit farms, simply cannot reach every farmer across the country’s vast landscape. This is the gap that SBCC-driven mass media initiatives fill.

The core idea is straightforward: use the communication channels that farmers already trust and access – primarily radio and television – to deliver timely, localised, and actionable agricultural information. The goal is not just to inform, but to change farming behaviour from outdated, low-yield methods to modern, sustainable, and more profitable practices.

The role of mass media in agricultural SBCC

Mass media has been central to agricultural extension in India for decades. But two specific initiatives stand out for the scale and depth of their impact on farming communities: Kisan Vani (on All India Radio) and DD Kisan (on Doordarshan). Both represent targeted SBCC tools designed to reach India’s farming population with information they can use immediately.

Kisan Vani: agriculture on the airwaves

Launched on 15th February, 2004, the Kisan Vani programme was a joint initiative of All India Radio (AIR) and the Ministry of Agriculture under the “Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension” scheme. The programme uses the FM radio infrastructure of AIR to broadcast half-hour programmes daily, six days a week, from 96 FM stations across India.

What makes Kisan Vani a textbook SBCC intervention is its narrowcasting approach. Unlike conventional national radio broadcasts, each Kisan Vani station produces locally specific content tailored to the agro-climatic zone it serves. Programmes are broadcast in the local language or dialect, making the information instantly relatable and useful. A farmer in Madhya Pradesh hears about crop varieties and pest management relevant to their specific soil and climate, not a generic advisory meant for the entire country.

The programme covers a wide range of topics: crop rotation, soil testing, integrated nutrient management, seed selection, horticulture, animal husbandry, poultry farming, fisheries, and information on rural banking and self-employment schemes. The formats are also varied and engaging, including news bulletins, market price updates, weather reports, interviews with progressive farmers, and interactive phone-in sessions where farmers can ask questions directly to agricultural scientists.

Community radio stations like ISAP Kisan Vani 90.4 FM in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, take this a step further. Set up by the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP), this was the first community radio station established by an NGO in India specifically for farmers. It broadcasts advisories on plant protection, irrigation, market prices, credit and finance, and government schemes. The station is connected with over 3,000 farmers and 80 folk singers, and it cleverly uses folk songs to deliver messages on social and agricultural issues – a smart SBCC technique that wraps information in a culturally familiar and entertaining format.

DD Kisan: agriculture on the screen

DD Kisan, India’s only 24/7 television channel dedicated to agriculture, was launched on 26th May, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Operated by Prasar Bharati, the channel was created with a clear SBCC objective: to serve the farming and rural community across India by informing and educating them, and to work towards creating a holistic environment for sustainable and inclusive growth.

The channel covers an extensive range of content – from new farming techniques and water conservation to organic farming, market trends, weather updates, and government agricultural schemes. Its programming includes non-fiction shows, reality series featuring progressive farmers, and daily live weather bulletins with crop-wise advisories for different agro-climatic zones. The channel also highlights the innovations of progressive farmers, encouraging others to replicate successful practices – a classic SBCC strategy of using role models to drive behaviour change.

DD Kisan builds on the legacy of Krishi Darshan, India’s longest-running television programme that premiered on Doordarshan on 26th January, 1967, originally covering agricultural practices for villages near Delhi. The shift from Krishi Darshan to a full-fledged 24/7 channel reflects the growing recognition that sustained, dedicated media exposure – not occasional programming – is what truly changes farmer behaviour at scale.

In a recent development, DD Kisan has also introduced two AI anchors, AI Krish and AI Bhoomi, capable of delivering agricultural information in 50 Indian and foreign languages. This innovation addresses one of the biggest challenges in agricultural SBCC – the language barrier. Farmers in southern and northeastern states who may not follow Hindi programming can now receive information in their mother tongue, dramatically expanding the channel’s reach and effectiveness.

The story of Hema Ananth: SBCC in action

No discussion of SBCC’s impact on agriculture is complete without real stories of transformation. The case of Hema Ananth is one of the most compelling examples of how targeted agricultural communication can change lives.

Hema Ananth, a farmer from Hassan district, Karnataka, began her journey with virtually no formal training in farming. She took over her grandfather’s barren and unused land in Gowripura village. With the help of knowledge she gathered through agricultural radio broadcasts – including programmes on FM Kisan Vani – and guidance from experienced local farmers, Ananth learnt about water conservation techniques, soil health management, and organic farming practices.

The results were remarkable. What was once wasteland gradually transformed into a thriving 30-acre organic farm with coconut groves, fruit trees, vegetable cultivation, and a small dairy operation yielding 60 litres of milk daily. She set up a virgin coconut oil production unit after learning extraction techniques during a visit to Sri Lanka, and created a unique farm-to-consumer model – including a famous “shop without a shopkeeper” that operates entirely on trust and goodwill.

Ananth’s farm, now recognised through awards such as the Dr M.H. Mari Gowda Award for Best Woman Farmer from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, and the Best Horticulture Farmer Award from Bagalkot Horticulture University, has become a popular study tour centre visited by student groups and farmer delegations every year. She earns up to Rs 4 lakh annually from her farm operations.

Hema Ananth’s story is a textbook illustration of the SBCC model at work: a farmer accesses information through a targeted media channel, applies it to her specific context, sees tangible results, and then becomes a role model who inspires others in the community to follow a similar path. This is the cycle of behaviour change that SBCC aims to create.

How SBCC bridges traditional and modern agriculture

One of the biggest challenges in Indian agriculture is the deeply rooted attachment to traditional farming practices. Generations of farmers have followed methods passed down from their forefathers, and asking them to change overnight is neither realistic nor respectful of their accumulated wisdom. SBCC does not demand that farmers abandon tradition. Instead, it creates a bridge.

This bridge works on several levels:

Cultural sensitivity in communication: Programmes like Kisan Vani use local languages, dialects, and even folk songs to deliver agricultural information. When a farmer hears advice in their own tongue, delivered through a familiar cultural form, it does not feel like an instruction from an outsider – it feels like a conversation within the community. The ISAP Kisan Vani station, for instance, uses traditional singing styles like Rai, Aala, Gaari, and Lamtera to deliver messages, making the content engaging and memorable.

Interactive and participatory formats: Rather than one-way broadcasts, many agricultural SBCC programmes include phone-in sessions, farmer interviews, and live interactions with agricultural scientists. This two-way communication – a fundamental principle of effective SBCC – gives farmers a sense of ownership over the knowledge they receive. They are not passive recipients; they are active participants in their own learning.

Role models from within: When DD Kisan features a progressive farmer from a small village who has doubled their yield using a new technique, it sends a powerful signal to viewers: “If someone like me can do it, so can I.” This is far more effective than an expert in a studio telling farmers what to do. SBCC relies heavily on social proof and peer influence, and agricultural media programmes are increasingly designed with this principle in mind.

Addressing real barriers: SBCC in agriculture does not just educate – it also informs farmers about government schemes, subsidies, loan facilities, insurance programmes, and market linkages that remove the financial and logistical barriers to adopting new practices. A farmer who learns about a new technique on radio but cannot afford the inputs will not change behaviour. But if the same programme also tells them about a government subsidy that covers the cost, the barrier is removed and adoption becomes feasible.

SBCC’s impact on food security and farmer livelihoods

The broader impact of SBCC-driven agricultural communication goes beyond individual success stories. When thousands of farmers in a region begin adopting improved practices – better seed varieties, soil testing, crop rotation, integrated pest management – the cumulative effect on food production and food security is significant.

India’s challenge is massive. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, the country needs to continuously increase food production while dealing with shrinking farmland, water scarcity, and climate change. Research from Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems highlights that extreme weather events like floods and droughts have detrimental effects on livelihoods, particularly in rainfed regions where most Indian farmers are small-scale and marginal. Weather-based advisories delivered through radio and television – a core component of agricultural SBCC – help these farmers prepare for and mitigate weather-related risks.

The UNICEF India C4D (Communication for Development) programme framework, which incorporates SBCC, works with farmer cooperatives, self-help groups, and community networks to create new social narratives – including those around agricultural practices. When SBCC is integrated with government flagship programmes, the potential for large-scale impact on rural livelihoods multiplies.

The economic impact is also direct. Farmers who receive timely market price information through Kisan Vani or DD Kisan can make better decisions about when and where to sell their produce, avoiding exploitation by middlemen. Information about new high-yield or disease-resistant crop varieties helps them increase output. Knowledge about value-addition – like Hema Ananth’s coconut oil production – helps them move up the value chain and earn more from the same land.

Challenges and the road ahead

Despite its successes, agricultural SBCC in India faces real challenges. Research has shown that DD Kisan’s content tends to be skewed towards a few agriculturally dominant states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, while smaller states receive limited coverage. Most DD Kisan programming is in Hindi, which means farmers in southern and northeastern India may not fully benefit. Vital sectors like fisheries, beekeeping, and sericulture also receive comparatively less attention.

On the radio front, while Kisan Vani broadcasts from 96 FM stations, the reach is still limited given India’s enormous rural population. Community radio stations, though highly effective, depend on donor funding and government CSR support, making their long-term sustainability uncertain.

The path forward involves expanding regional language programming, increasing coverage of underrepresented states and agricultural sub-sectors, integrating digital and mobile-based communication channels alongside traditional radio and TV, and building stronger feedback mechanisms so that SBCC content remains responsive to what farmers actually need. The introduction of AI anchors on DD Kisan is a promising step, but technology must be paired with grassroots engagement to truly transform outcomes.

What do you think? Can mass media alone drive meaningful change in farming practices, or does it need to be paired with on-ground extension services for lasting impact? How might digital tools like mobile apps and social media platforms reshape the future of agricultural SBCC in India?

References

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Table of Contents

What is SBCC and why does it matter in agriculture? 🔗

The role of mass media in agricultural SBCC 🔗

Kisan Vani: agriculture on the airwaves 🔗

DD Kisan: agriculture on the screen 🔗

The story of Hema Ananth: SBCC in action 🔗

How SBCC bridges traditional and modern agriculture 🔗

SBCC’s impact on food security and farmer livelihoods 🔗

Challenges and the road ahead 🔗