Media Human Resource Development in Indo- Chinese Countries
---Training for Program Production of Agricultural Education in Laos


PROGRAM DATA
Implementing Organizations: Kasetsart University (Thailand)
Target Country: Laos
Type of Project: Human Resource Development
Period: 2 years (FY 1999 - 2000)



With approximately 4.5 million inhabitants, Laos is the least populous of the nations of Indochina, and agriculture, in which more than 80% of the population is engaged, is the overwhelmingly dominant economic activity. This project aimed to facilitate the provision of appropriate and timely information to Laotian farmers by strengthening the capabilities of that country's media personnel and agricultural policymakers to produce television and radio programs and thereby disseminate information more effectively.

In the project's first year the grant recipient, Kasetsart University, invited six government officials from Laos to spend a week observing firsthand the operations of relevant Thai institutions (including the state-run educational TV network, other key TV networks in major cities, an independent TV network, and private-sector broadcasters). Nineteen people, including TV and radio personnel and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, were also sent to Thailand for three weeksÕ training in program production. The 10 TV and radio programs produced during training, including the TV program Shiitake Mushroom Production were later broadcast in Laos.

In Laos, as in other countries, TV is becoming the major medium. This being the case, this year's training concentrated on educational TV program production. Aside from one Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives official, all 20 trainees were media personnel. The threeweek training included lectures by Kasetsart University faculty, program production, and observation of relevant institutions.

The training began with lectures on eight subjects: the nature of educational TV programs, program production planning, direction, equipment operation, soundtrack and dubbing, digital techniques, editing, and scriptwriting. In a post-training questionnaire the trainees gave this part of the training program 3.81 points out of a possible 4, indicating a high degree of satisfaction. Next the trainees split into three groups and produced three programs: Native Chicken Raising, Giant Catfish Culture, and Off- Season Mango Production, which were shown in Laos after the trainees' return. Finally, the trainees visited Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, four commercial networks, the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand, and Kantana Co. (an independent program producer), where the students undertook further training using the networks' and Kantana's studios and equipment. After the conclusion of the project Kantana expressed a wish to accept Laotian trainees on a paid basis. If this comes to pass, interesting developments can be expected.