How Agribusiness TV transitioned from a blog to a mobile-first news outlet

Even though Agribusiness TV is made for mobile consumption, its journalists don’t use their mobile phones to report. They still use DSLRs or small cameras. Reporting with smartphones will be the next step, says Couve.

Several months after the workshop, Agribusiness TV is a growing media organization. It’s actively working to change the image of agriculture in Africa, a continent where the population is growing and where many young people are turning their back to this sector.

Numbers are showing Agribusiness TV is on the right track. Its videos have more than 1 million views, and boasts more than 50,000 likes on its Facebook page. Its web and mobile TV content, originally in French, is now translated into English to reach an even wider audience.

Most importantly, every day between 10 and 15 people contact Agribusiness TV seeking information about the entrepreneurs it profiles to learn more about their experiences and techniques.

“It’s not just artificial engagement,” notes Couve, who still follows Agribusiness TV. Other entrepreneurs are also contacting Agribusiness TV’s journalists to be featured in their videos. The media outlet is building a community of young people with a shared interest in agriculture.

While Agribusiness TV is currently available on the internet and through its mobile app, it is working to develop more traditional programming. They plan on making a monthly 26-minute television program with their videos to reach a wider audience (especially for those in rural Africa who have bad internet connectivity) — and for financial reasons.

“Advertisers in Francophone Africa are not interested yet in investing in a mobile platform,” says Maïga.