12 pages., Agriculture play significant role towards sustainability of developing nations’ economy particularly Nigeria by providing abundant raw materials required by the industry, as well as ensures food security and a healthy nation. This study examines the challenges of accessing agricultural information sources and services by farmers in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State. Survey method was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprise of 16066 from which 78 farmers of the study area were selected using stratified random sampling and purposive sampling procedure. From the copies of questionnaires administered only 60 were duly completed and returned. Frequency and percentages were used in analyzing data collected. The findings from the study showed that information needs of farmers among others include application of improve techniques, irrigation management, seeds prices, farm wild fire management and prevention, purchase and use of fertilizer, government blueprint on agriculture, and meteorology information need of farmers in Edu Local Government . The findings further revealed that poor communication system, absence of library and information centre, absence of extension agents, insufficient knowledge on marketing of farm produce , insufficient credit facilities, insufficient information on government policies, insufficient fund were the challenges faced by farmers in accessing agricultural information sources and services. The study recommended among others that central facility providing and disseminating information on agricultural related services should be created in the study area that would be accessible to all farmers in order to meet their information needs.
17 pages., Via open source journal., The rural farmers in western Rajasthan State are uneducated and most of the applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are demonstrated and run in the English Language. The majority of these rural farmers who are illiterates with a very low level of understanding of the English Language find it difficult to take advantage of the availability of ICT to facilitate their access to information for their farm businesses. This study examined the role of ICT in enhancing the farmers’ access to production and marketing information in western Rajasthan State in India. Primary data was collected from 133 farmers consisting of 71 ICT users and 62 Non-ICT users through questionnaire administration. The results of the Analysis of Variance test regarding the farmers’ access to different types of production and marketing information revealed that the user type (i.e., ICT versus Non-ICT user) significantly explains the differences in farmers’ access to the different types of marketing and production information. These results are consistent with the empirical results of the student’s t-test that farmers’ access to different types of production and marketing information from ICT sources is significantly higher than from Non-ICT sources. Consistently, the empirical results of the multiple regressions revealed that the percentage of production and marketing information obtained from ICT sources had positive significant influence on the farmers’ access to marketing and production information; and that the percentage of marketing and production information obtained from Non-ICT sources had negative significant influence on the farmers’ access to marketing and production information. These results suggest that ICT sources of marketing and production information play a crucial role in the farmers’ access to this information for their business operations. The implication is that proper education and training of farmers (especially the female farmers) about the utilization of ICT sources to accelerate access to information is crucial
20 pages., China, Information needs, access, rural communities, small farms, information channels, surveys, development, Information plays an important role in meeting the quantitative and qualitative goals of agriculture in the 21st century. As an emerging economy in a developing continent, China has already made many interventions to use information technology to support agricultural development. However, information service in some rural areas is still severely limited. The overall impact of the changing information environment on the farmers’ information needs and access channels has not been fully studied. Thus, this study systematically investigates the characteristics of the information needs and channels of farmers in Guangdong, China. We have collected 4006 questionnaire samples and used correlation analysis to explore the relationships between farmers’ information needs and access channel preferences. The results indicate that individual characteristic factors, social factors and family factors have different degrees of influence on farmers’ information needs and access channel preferences. These findings can provide a reference for information construction in the rural areas of Guangdong Province and thus promote its economic development. This study can also provide useful insights for policy-makers and researchers from other developing countries to formulate implementation plans to promote agricultural development.
