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    Start Over Subject Term information needs Language English Journal Title Information Development

    2. Farmers’ use of mobile phone-based farm advisory services in Punjab, Pakistan

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Khan, Nasir Abbas (author), Qijie, Gao (author), Sertse, Selamawit Fantahun (author), Nabi, Nur Md (author), and Khan, Palwasha (author)
    Format:
    Online journal article
    Publication Date:
    2019-08
    Published:
    SAGE Journals
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 114 Document Number: D11010
    Journal Title:
    Information Development
    Notes:
    13 pages., via online journal., The agriculture sector in Pakistan faces enormous challenges of lack of farm knowledge adoption due to the farmers’ lack of access to the latest information. Recently various mobile phone-based farm advisory services (FAS) have been introduced as an alternative to the conventional extension methods. Despite many ICT initiatives, the performance of these projects remains unsatisfactory. The current study was designed to identify these FAS, farmers’ extent of use, and factors associated with their adoption. Two hundred and forty farmers were surveyed in the rural areas of district Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed with SPSS software. Findings revealed that 77.08% of the sampled farmers were using mobile-based FAS. Telecom and private sector FAS were reported to have the highest share of users (37.08% and 25.83% respectively). Results of the logistic regression showed that farmers’ educational level, mobile use skills, mobile possession duration and the number of mobile phones in a family were found positively significant, while farmers’ age and contact with extension agents were negatively significant. The findings conclude that education and digital literacy are essential for the use of mobile-based alternatives and emphasize the need for training and educating the farmers.

    3. Information needs and barriers of rural smallholder farmers in developing countries: A case study of rural smallholder farmers in Malawi

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Phiri, Austine (author), Chipeta, George T. (author), and Chawinga, Winner D. (author)
    Format:
    Online journal article
    Publication Date:
    2019
    Published:
    SAGE Journals
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 114 Document Number: D11003
    Journal Title:
    Information Development
    Journal Title Details:
    35(3): 421–434
    Notes:
    14 pages., via online journal., The purpose of the study was to investigate the information needs and barriers of rural smallholder farmers in Mzimba North in Malawi. A mixed methods approach was adopted for the study and the Wilson’s Model of Information Behaviour (1996) guided the study. A questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used to collect data from 202 rural smallholder farmers. The study found that the major information need of rural smallholder farmers was crop husbandry as revealed by the majority of rural smallholder farmers 149 (77.6). The study found that majority of rural smallholder farmers 180 (94.8%) were aware of information sources. The study also found that the predominant information sources consulted by rural smallholder farmers were personal experiences as indicated by the majority of rural smallholder farmers 185 (96%). The major challenge faced by rural smallholder farmers was lack of mobility as revealed by the majority of rural smallholder farmers 147 (76.6). The study recommends that the Department of Agriculture Extension Services (DAES) should empower the social structures such as families in rural settings with agricultural information.

    6. Sustaining agriculture with information: An assessment of rural citrus farmers’ information behaviour

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Hassan, Ali (author)
    Format:
    Journal article
    Publication Date:
    2020-07-14
    Published:
    United States: Sage Journals
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D12411
    Journal Title:
    Information Development
    Journal Title Details:
    Vol. 37 Issue (3)
    Notes:
    15 pages, Information needs, surveys, extension agents, information seeking, small farmers, small farms, development, Pakistan(Southern Asia), This study investigated information behaviour of citrus farmers residing in rural areas of Sargodha, Pakistan. The data were collected from 120 adult male farmers through face to face interviews using preformulated questionnaire and analyzed by applying descriptive statistics. The citrus farmers required information on land preparation, soil fertility management, better citrus varieties, citrus trees protection, harvesting techniques, pest and diseases control, fertilizer applications, plantation techniques, finance, Government policies and programs, better pricing, labor information in the locality, agrochemicals, how to stop fruit drop, weather, irrigation management, pesticides application, health and safety information, buyers, collections and traders, and herbicide. These farmers relied overwhelmingly on their prior experience and interpersonal relationships such as fellow farmers/friends, progressive farmers, for agricultural information. More than two-third of these farmers did not seem to have any contact, either written or oral, with government agricultural officials. The farmers’ farm size, education, and income appeared to predict their information needs and sources. Lack of timely access, inaccessibility, unawareness, bad timing of television programs, poor economic conditions, infrequent visits of extension staff, low level of education and language barriers were the primary obstacles in information acquisition. The results will be helpful for extension agents and librarians of the public libraries in the area while making adjustments for efficient and effective information delivery. This study would make a contribution in the existing research on farmers’ crop-specific information behaviour.