Community radio’s relationship with the farming communities has a long history in India. The earliest successful experiments in community broadcasting involved both farmers and agriculture. In terms of development communication, community radio in India represents a confluence of somewhat conflicting paradigms. While community radio is generally presented as a highly democratic, participatory medium, the way it is operationalized in India more closely aligns with the modernization/diffusion paradigm. In 1976, Joseph Ascroft observed the phenomenon of ‘interpersonal diffusion’ among farmers, whereby for each farmer trained in new techniques, three more would adopt the innovations. While this ‘interpersonal diffusion’ was by no means perfect, it was illustrative of the complex communication networks involved in the diffusion process. It also hints towards the ways in which community radio can act as a facilitator of these processes; as somewhat of an intersection between diffusion and participatory communication. Drawing on ethnographically inspired qualitative research conducted at a rural community radio station in South India, this article explores the role of community radio at the intersections of participatory development and diffusion. This article argues that community radio facilitates the sharing of technical information and innovations among farmers and contributes to amplifying existing knowledge communication systems. The implications of this article suggest that a focus on existing local knowledge communication and transfer systems could contribute to achieving broader development outcomes and further situating the role of community radio within development and social change initiatives.

中文翻译：

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社区广播作为农村知识共享的放大

在印度，社区广播与农业社区的关系源远流长。社区广播最早成功的试验涉及农民和农业。在发展交流方面，印度的社区广播代表了一些相互矛盾的范例的融合。虽然社区广播通常被认为是高度民主，参与性的媒介，但它在印度的运作方式与现代化/扩散范式更加紧密地契合。1976年，约瑟夫·阿斯克罗夫特（Joseph Ascroft）观察到农民之间的“人际传播”现象，因此，每位接受过新技术培训的农民都将采用新技术。尽管这种“人际传播”绝非完美，但它说明了传播过程中涉及的复杂通信网络。它还暗示了社区广播可以如何充当这些过程的促进者；就像传播和参与式沟通之间的交集。利用在印度南部的一个乡村社区广播电台进行的人种学启发性定性研究，本文探讨了社区广播在参与式发展与传播的交汇处的作用。本文认为，社区广播有助于农民之间共享技术信息和创新，并有助于扩大现有的知识交流系统。