7 pages., via online journal., The study was aimed at determining women farmers' agricultural information needs and accessibility, using Apa local government area of Benue State as a case study. A sample size of 70 women farmers was initially taken for the study but only data for 65 respondents were analyzed. Simple random sampling technique was used for the sample selection and questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The result showed highest information needs in the areas of pesticides and fertilizer applications and improved farm implements. Husbands, fellow women and mass media were the main sources of agricultural information to women farmers and accessibility of information from these sources was relatively high. Age, educational level and income of women farmers showed significant relationships with their accessibility to agricultural information at 5% level of significance. It is recommended that enough information should be provided in the needed areas and women adult literacy and economic empowerment programmes should be given serious attention to enhance their access to needed agricultural information.
12 pages., Via online journal., Rural Resources Centers (RRCs) managed by community-based organisations, where farmers come together for training and demonstration, have been an innovative extension approach in Cameroon since 2006. This paper describes information flow in RRCs and farmers’ assessment of RRCs as information sources. All the RRCs in Cameroon were studied and 29 group interviews, involving 118 producers and 7 individual interviews with RRC managers, were performed. RRCs share information with several stakeholders including farmers, research institutions, and educational and religious institutions; and interpersonal channels are commonly used. Farmers and agricultural extension workers are the most important sources of information for RRCs. Farmers rank RRCs as their second best sources of information after fellow farmers. On average, each year, RRCs organise at least 40 training sessions for about 1777 participants. The themes are mainly agroforestry (29%), marketing (20%), group dynamics (20%) and post-harvest techniques (11%). The issue of funding the activities of the RRCs needs to be addressed, they need to be better structured, and their human resources increased and strengthened.
