Is Devcom archaic?

Recently, during the hearing of the Senate committee on finance on the proposed budget for the development communication (Devcom) program of the Philippine Information Agency, a lawmaker was quoted as saying that the discipline is “cute and archaic.” Describing Devcom as “cute” is most welcome, but calling it “archaic”—implying that it is old-fashioned and even obsolete—is absolutely untrue.

Introduced in 1971 by professors of the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA) in Los Baños spearheaded by Dr. Nora Quebral, Devcom was originally defined as “the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfillment of the human potential.”

In 1974, UPCA offered the first four-year academic program in development communication in the Philippines and in the world. This evolved from the BS Agriculture (BSA) curriculum where Agricultural Communication was a major field. I was one of the five pioneer students who graduated, transferring from the BSA program. The offering unit was eventually elevated into a College of Development Communication in early 2000.

Devcom students are required to take technical courses in a field of their choice, making them adept in communicating content related to development. During our stint at the helm of the Institute of Development Communication, we introduced four domains in the application and practice of Devcom: (1) strategic communication, (2) science communication, (3) environmental communication, and (4) community communication. These are anchored on the core values (four E’s) of empowerment, equity, environmentalism, and entrepreneurship.

Inspired by the Los Baños curriculum, major state universities and colleges and even some private tertiary education institutions in the Philippines now offer undergraduate and post-graduate programs in Devcom. Likewise, Devcom is offered in universities in Asia, Africa, South America, and even in some developed countries.

Devcom graduates work mostly in the public and private sectors and civil society organizations either as communication officers, community broadcasters, extension-communication specialists, community organizers, training specialists, and other allied professions. Globally, there is even a development communication unit at the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and other international agriculture and development organizations.

What makes Devcom different from ordinary communication? Quebral cites six basic features: (1) it is a convergence of the processes of development and communication, hence its meaning evolves by the ever-changing character of these two components; (2) its primary stakeholders are the poor and disadvantaged in a developing society who live in the grassroots; (3) it is a catalyst for planned change toward economic growth; (4) it is the human exchange of information and knowledge, not only through the media, but more on face-to-face interaction; (5) its unit of study and analysis is the community rather than the individual; and (6) it is nonformal education mainly for out-of-school learners in the grassroots.

Devcom goes beyond public information (aka public relations/public awareness) which focuses on publicity, raising awareness, informing, and persuading audiences. It is about listening, empowering, and building consensus for collective action. It popularizes the esoteric language of science and makes ordinary people—especially the poor—understand and apply innovations in improving their livelihoods.

On a personal note, I have had a very fulfilling career, with a diversity of professional experiences in various organizations, with my Devcom background. Beginning in the mid-’70s, this career spanned teaching Devcom, leading a national extension organization, communicating science-based innovations, training middle-level managers and intermediaries on rural development, catalyzing rural development initiatives, mobilizing communities for environmental management, and doing consultancies here and abroad even after my retirement from an international agricultural research organization based in India.

Through its message of people-centered development, Devcom helps bring about hope to poor and marginalized peoples throughout the developing world, especially at this time of the pandemic. This is the ever-relevant mission of Devcom, making it far from being archaic and obsolete.

* * *

Dr. Rex L. Navarro was associate professor and the former director of the Institute (now College) of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños.