การวิเคราะห์ค่าใช้จ่ายในการให้ข่าวสารการเกษตรทางสถานีวิทยุ ปชส.8 กับผลได้ของเกษตรกร / พิกุล ภูมิสุทธินันท์ = A cost-effectiveness analysis of agricultural information dissemination through P.R.D.8 radio station / Pikul Pumisutinunt
Considering the trend in agricultural development in Thailand during the last twenty years, it appears that agricultural productions has been expanding at a considering high rate of 5% which is more than average world rate of expansion which is between 2.5-2.8%. In the later years, Thailand began to encounter problems on land and water resources, and the futile utilization of forests together with inefficient conservation cause serious destruction to these natural resources, and moreover, has caused a decrease in agricultural production rate. One way to help solving these problems is to provide agricultural news and information through mass media, especially through radio which is accepted as being influential to daily life of the Thai people. Since Thailand is an agricultural country which most people earning their living through agriculture, and many responsible government agencies regularly release their agricultural information through media with the emphasis on the utilization of radio, it seems to be quite interesting and beneficial to follow the benefit of the program and its effectiveness. To gain the necessary beneficial information, this research is focused on the study of the cost-benefit of agricultural programs of the P.R.D.8 Radio Station (under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives) with the following specific objectives:- 1. to determine the expenses incurred in arranging and broadcasting the programs. 2. to determine the amount of agriculturists who listen to the programs. 3. to find the attitudes of agriculturists towards the programs. 4. to find the patterns of behavior of agriculturists after listening to the programs. 5. to determine the cost-benefit advantage of the programs. The data for the first objective were obtained from the expenses figures of fiscal year 1981 assessed by Agricultural Radio Section staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and by the Radio's Maintenance and License Division staff of the Public Relations Department, Office of the Prime Minister. The acquired figures were further analyzed in term of depreciating values in case of buildings and equipments, As for the aspect of land and income from program, the figure was calculated in term of the opportunity lost. The whole figure acquired as a result is considered to be total expense of agriculturists. The answers for (2) - (4) were obtained from a survey on the selected sample group. It is found that the percentage of agriculturists in Cholburi who listen to the programs is approximately 58.4% which is almost the same percentage (approximately 53%) as those who listened to the Kasetsart University Radio Station's agricultural programs. The attitudes of the surveyed audience on the applicability of the programs can be said to concentrate on the higher end of the "fair" scale (nearing the "very useful" scale). Moreover, most interviewed agriculturists admit that they are able to utilize the acquired knowledge for improving the production techniques and have obtained from "fair" to "good" results. And moreover, they further tell their neighbors about their success. According to the analysis, it is also found that the average expenditure in agricultural information dissemination through the P.R.D.8 Radio Station in Cholburi is approximately 5.48 baht/family/ year which can be considered to be very least both in comparison to the per-head government budget allocate for agriculture in fiscal year 1981 (366 baht/head/year) and in comparison to the agricultural expenditure of the Cholburi Provincial Agricultural Office in the same fiscal year (120 baht/family), whereas the income of Cholburi agriculturists is in the range of 20,000 - 25,000 baht/family/year. Considering from the total acquired result, it is not unreliable to conclude that the benefit obtained from P.R.D.8 Radio Station agricultural programs is quite worthy for the invested costs.
