Corona virus disease is a highly contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first discovered in 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread to virtually all nations of the world leading to the deaths of over a million people. This deadly virus has become nightmares for people worldwide and has been declared as pandemic on the 11th of March, 2020 by World Health Organization. Presently, there are over 10,000,430 confirmed cases, 1,402,578 deaths and 6,822,396 recovered cases of COVID-19 globally with this described by many as the most dreadful situation that the world is ever facing after World War II. The Coronavirus disease is novel among human corona viruses which is highly contagious, has considerably high death rates in some potentially high risk age range (children and aged people) and has the capacity to cause serious societal, religious and economic imbalances across the world. With COVID-19 being unique pathogen, there is presently no known pre-existing immunity in humans. As number of confirmed cases continue to rise daily all over the world, it is only logical to conclude everyone is prone to contracting this deadly virus.

Recent studies revealed that at least 70% of Nigeria's population reside in rural areas and provides about 75 percent of the nations’ annual food production [1]. This calls for concern when it comes to COVID-19, as older persons and people having other health issues have shown to be more susceptible to the deadly virus. Majority of the rural populace are predominantly smallholder farmers who produce staple food crops such as maize, yam, cowpea, rice, cassava and vegetables.

COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis which is already affecting the agricultural sector. Farming households in Nigeria are apparently in a state of overwhelming fears concerning their mainstay with the recent clampdown as a result of the new Coronavirus pandemic. This global crisis is envisaged to have more tangible effects on crop production in widespread States and Nigeria at large [2]. The country risks a looming food crisis unless measures are taken to protect the most vulnerable rural dwellers who constitute the farming majority, keep food supply chains alive and mitigate the pandemic’s effects across the food system. Thus, the ability of rural farmers to increase food production is pertinent in this pandemic and beyond.

Presently in Kwara State, there are over 1,069 confirmed cases and 26 deaths with the figure projected to increase if the situation is not well managed. 

Some of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the State are: reduction in economic productivity, reduction in farm labour, increase in level of poverty, decline in agricultural production posing a threat to food security and increase in the number of deaths due to corona virus. The large number of deaths associated with the pandemic will no doubt result in significant economic and development losses in rural areas of the State. The ripple effect could then create a vicious cycle of poverty in the State unless the government takes pro-active measures through prompt and strategic interventions. The State government has since embarked on a lot of educational campaign to increase the citizen’s level of awareness and knowledge. This is done in order to help curtail the spread of the deadly virus. Since March 2020, government has sensitized the people about COVID-19 through television and radio adverts, billboards and other print media. Useful and relevant messages were disseminated through these media, all in a bid to bring about a change and adaptation to current realities brought about by the pandemic. Unfortunately, these communication interventions do not seem achieve its set goals as the virus continued to spread despite governments’ efforts. It is therefore safe to assert that something may be wrong with the communication strategies adopted by the government. The television has over the years played significant roles in the prevention and control of several deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS epidemic, Lassa fever and Ebola virus in developing countries [3]. Undoubtedly, this tool can also play a vital role in communicating COVID-19 control messages in rural areas of the state. In lieu of the foregoing, the study sought to examine the effectiveness of television in disseminating COVID-19 control messages in rural areas of Kwara State. Specifically, the study sought to: ascertain respondents’ level of awareness before and after television intervention; and ascertain respondents level of knowledge of COVID-19 before and after television intervention.

The study was conducted in Kwara State. The State is located in North Central Nigeria between latitude 8o5’ – 10o 4’ N and longitude 4o55’–6o5’ E and covers an estimated land area of 36,825 square km with a population of about 2.37 million [4]. There are 16 Local Government Areas with the state sharing borders with Oyo, Kogi, Osun and Niger States, as well as international borders with Benin Republic. The State comprise majorly of agrarian communities, with trading and artisanship also a key occupation of the people in the areas.

The study adopted a multi-stage sampling technique in data collection. Kwara State is divided into 4 ADP zones which are: zone A with headquarter at Kaiama; zone B with headquarter at Pategi, zone C with headquarter at Malete; and zone D with headquarter at Igbaja respectively. The first stage involves a purposive selection of zone C and D. This is because majority of the communities are Yoruba speaking communities and the documentary video was produced in Yoruba language. Stage two involves the use of random selection to select two LGAs from each of the two purposively selected zones (Zone C: Asa and Moro; Zone D: Irepodun and Offa) while the third stage involves the use of systematic random sampling technique to select two communities each from the two selected Local Government Areas, making a total of eight communities selected for the study. The communities were Ogbondoroko and Aboto from Asa LGA; Bode-saadu and Shao from Moro LGA; Ijan-otun and Esie from Irepodun LGA; and Alabere and Ajelanwa from Offa LGA. In the fourth stage, 20 respondents were selected from each community using systematic random sampling technique. Thus, a total of One Hundred and Sixty respondents were selected for the study.

The study used interview schedule to elicit information on respondents’ socio-economic characteristics and to ascertain respondents’ level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 before and after watching the documentary video. Before watching the documentary video, respondents were asked to complete a 19 – point questionnaire. Two days after, respondents were made to watch the same documentary video carrying COVID-19 messages. Two weeks after watching the documentary video, respondents were asked to complete the same 19 – point questionnaire in order to ascertain the knowledge gained as a result of the video. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, mean and probit regression model. 

The effectiveness of the television as a medium of communicating COVID-19 control messages was determined as follows:

• Me1 = Measurement before intervention (before the documentary video)

• Me2 = Measurement after intervention (after the documentary video)

• Measurement of Effectiveness (Me) = Me2 – Me1

The probit regression model was used to determine the factors influencing awareness and knowledge level of respondents about the messages from the documentary video. This is stated thus:

Y = f (X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6 + e)

Where,

Y: Dependent variable

X1: Age (measured in years)

X2: Sex = (Male 1, Female 0)

X3: Education (number of years spent in school)

X4: Marital Status (measured as married, single, widowed or divorced)

X5: Cosmopoliteness which refers to the degree of respondents’ outside orientation will be measured in the number of times respondents travel outside his residential area

X6: Time (have time 1; no time 0)

X7: Technical skill (skilled 1; unskilled 0)

X8: Consent from spouse (consented 1; otherwise 0)

X9: Occupation (farming 1; otherwise 0)

e: error term

Socioeconomic Characteristics of Respondents

The results in Table 1 shows that 57% of the respondents were males with the remaining 43% being females. About 43.7% were between the ages of 41–50 with the mean age being 42.6. The implication of this result is that majority of the respondents in the areas were in their economically productive and active age. Results from FAO [5], reveals that these age group constitutes the age group most affected by the corona virus pandemic in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, Table 1 shows that a significant percentage (43.1%) of the respondents are actively employed in farming activities. This result further buttresses the fact that farming remains the major occupation of the rural people. Also, Table 1 further shows that most of the respondents (47.1%) in the study areas had no formal education. Although, several studies have revealed that lack of education does not impair watching television, however, it is evident that education plays instrumental roles in message comprehension. Also, 57% of the respondents were married, with only 10.6% being single. This result corroborates the view that marriage remains a valued institution in rural areas and considered as a pointer to economic responsibilities of the respondents having to care for their dependents [6].

Level of Awareness of Respondents Before the Documentary Video

Prior to watching the documentary video, respondents in the study areas were asked about their level of awareness about COVID-19 through a 19-point questionnaire. Results obtained from Table 2 shows that 20% of the respondents from Zone C of KWADP had high awareness level of COVID-19 while many (80%) of the respondents had low awareness about COVID-19. Furthermore, results in table 2 shows that about 26.2% of the respondents in Zone D of KWADP were aware of the pandemic while majority (73.8%) had low awareness level about COVID-19. The implication drawn from the result is that majority of the respondents in the study areas generally had levels of awareness about COVID-19. These results are not encouraging, since awareness of a problem is necessary to changing individuals’ behaviour, which is a crucial step in the government’s preparedness for highly contagious pandemics like COVID-19.

Level of Awareness About COVID-19 After Watching Documentary Video

Respondents were shown the documentary video about COVID-19 over a two-day period. At the end of the show, respondents were asked to complete the same pre-interview questionnaire. The results in Table 3 reveals the level of awareness of the respondents after watching the documentary video. 

Table 1: Socio-Economic Characteristics of Respondents (n = 160)

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Table 2: Level of Awareness of Respondents Before the Documentary Video

Source: Field Survey, 2020

It was observed from the result that the level of awareness of respondents from Zone C of KWADP increased substantially from 20 to 68% after watching the documentary video. Similarly, the result from Zone D also significantly increased from 26.2 to 72.5%. This therefore means that the use of television in disseminating COVID-19 messages achieved 48% level of effectiveness in Zone C and 46.3% in Zone D. The results from the study areas reveals a significant improvement in the level of awareness of respondents about COVID-19 prevention and control. Referring to television as a means of information dissemination to rural people, Leeuwis [7], pointed out that “though people listen attentively, yet may lack the understanding of the focus of the message in the way they should all because they are not used to the approach and language used in information dissemination or lack the pre-existing knowledge that is assumed.” This could be the reason some of the respondents still had low level of awareness about COVID-19 even after watching the documentary video.

Level of Knowledge on COVID-19 Before the Documentary Video

Respondents were presented with additional questions so as to ascertain their level of knowledge about COVID-19 virus. Table 4 reveals the level of knowledge of respondents before watching the documentary video. From Table 4, it was revealed that respondents from Zones C and D had 23.7% and 32.5% level of knowledge about COVID-19 prior to watching the documentary video respectively. The result indicated that a difference of about 8.8% was found in the knowledge level of respondents across the two zones. This of course could be attributed to the different context, cosmopoliteness and nature of their environment.

Table 3: Level of Awareness About COVID-19 After Watching Documentary Video

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Table 4: Level of Knowledge on COVID-19 Before The Documentary Video

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Table 5: Level of Knowledge on COVID-19 after the Documentary Video

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Table 6: Effectiveness of Television as A Means of Information Dissemination

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Level of Knowledge on COVID-19 After the Documentary Video

Respondents from zones C and D were shown the documentary video carrying COVID-19 prevention and control messages. The results from Table 5 reveals the level of knowledge of respondents after watching the documentary video. The study found out that the level of knowledge of respondents from zone C increased from 23.7 to 51.2% with that of zone D increasing from 32.5 to 57.5%. The result contradicts projection as one would have expected to see a significant increase in the level of knowledge of respondents after watching the documentary video. It can therefore be deduced from the result that the respondents may be needing more exposure to the messages in the documentary video before there could be a significant knowledge gained.

Effectiveness of Television as a Means of Information Dissemination

The study attempted to determine the effectiveness of ‘television’ as a means of information dissemination about COVID-19 in rural areas of Kwara State. After respondents were shown the documentary video, the effectiveness of the television as a channel of information dissemination was determined by juxtaposing the level of knowledge before and after watching the video. Results from Table 6 reveals that the respondents’ level of knowledge before watching the documentary video (Me1) was 23.7% and 32.5% for zone C and D respectively. Furthermore, Table 6 shows that respondents’ knowledge level after watching the documentary video (Me2) was 51.2% and 57.5% for zones C and D respectively. The effectiveness of the television as a means of information dissemination on COVID-19 was determined by finding the difference before and after watching the documentary video (Me2 to Me1). The results therefore show that the effectiveness of the television as a means of disseminating COVID-19 messages was 27.5% and 25.2% for zone C and D respectively.

Determinants of Awareness and Knowledge Level of the Documentary Video

The result from Table 7 shows that sex had a positively significant relationship with the level of awareness and knowledge of respondents in zone C. From the result, it could be deduced that sex did not in any way affect awareness and knowledge level of respondents about COVID-19 in zone C although it did in zone D. Furthermore, result from Table 7 shows that the age of respondents does not significantly relate with the awareness and knowledge level in zone C. However, in zone D, age had a significantly positive influence with level of awareness and knowledge, level of respondents. The deduction from the result is that the level of awareness and knowledge of respondents about COVID-19 increased with age. The result corroborated findings by FAO [5], that awareness and knowledge level of respondents in the study areas is slightly lower from age group 60 to 75. This therefore calls for a deliberate effort in educating this age group who are considered vulnerable and most susceptible to COVID-19 virus.

Table 7: Determinants of Awareness and Knowledge Level of Respondents

Pearson goodness of fit chi-square result for Zone C = 62838.942***. Pearson goodness of fit chi-square result for Zone D = 486.967. ***Significant at 1%. **Significant at 5% and *significant at 10%.

A significantly positive influence was found between education and the level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 in the study areas. The result implied that the higher the level of education of an individual, the more knowledgeable he becomes about events and happenings around him. This is because education increases or widens information horizon of an individual [8]. Also, marital status was found to be significantly related with respondents’ level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, married people seem to interact freely and exchange information on COVID-19 prevention and control. This therefore increase their knowledge of the virus. However, unmarried people being single without marital partner may not have free access to information on the virus. On the contrary, the result from zone D shows that no relationship exists between marital status and respondents’ level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19. Furthermore, cosmopoliteness had inverse relationship with respondents’ level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 in zone C implying that their visit and interaction with urban areas did not increase their awareness and knowledge on COVID-19. However, the result from zone D shows cosmopoliteness had a positively significant relationship with the level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19. The result shows that respondents degree of outside orientation influences their awareness and knowledge level of COVID-19 pandemic.

The results emanating from this study revealed that the use of television in disseminating COVID-19 messages resulted in increased knowledge of respondents about COVID-19 by 27.5% and 25.2% in zones C and D respectively. The low level of effectiveness of the television is a pointer to the fact that it cannot be the only medium for the dissemination of COVID-19 control messages to the rural people in the study areas. 

This therefore imply that in the transfer of COVID-19 messages, effort should be made at using other media channels to complement the advantages of the television as a channel of information dissemination to people in the rural areas. To improve the level of effectiveness of the television as a media channel, experts in communication should work at making the messages brief and straight to the point, while avoiding the use of jargons. Furthermore, the study recommends the establishment of telecentres so as to help rural people take advantage of this channel of information dissemination. This will no doubt help rural people who do not have such facilities in their own homes access relevant information about COVID-19.

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2. Ajibola, B.O. COVID-19 Pandemic: Post-Effect on Rural Dwellers and Crop Production in Nigeria. April 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340619987.

3. Betrand, N., et al. Public Health Significance of Zoonotic Bacterial Pathogens from Bushmeat Sold in Urban Markets of Gabon, Central Africa. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 48, no. 3, 2016, pp. 785–789. https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-48.3.785.

4. National Population Commission (NPC). Report on 2006 Population Census. Kwara State, Nigeria, 2007, p. 21.

5. Food and Agriculture Organization. FAO Director-General Urges G20 to Ensure that Food Value Chains Are Not Disrupted during COVID-19 Pandemic. 2020.

6. Zavatta, G. Agriculture Remains Central to the World Economy: 60% of the Population Depends on Agriculture for Survival. 2014.

7. Leeuwis, C. Communication for Rural Innovation: Rethinking Agricultural Extension. Blackwell Publishing Service, Extension and Training Division, Sustainable Development Department, 2010.

8. Nwachukwu, I. Agricultural Communication: Principles and Practice. Lamb House Publishers, Umuahia, Abia State, 2013.