23 Pgs., Information and Communication Technology is a potent force in the developing world for social, economic and educational transformation of individuals, agencies and institutions. This study examined the veritable roles of ICT in empowering rural women farmers in Rivers State. The specific objectives were to examine the demographic characteristics of the respondents, identify ICT devices in use by the respondents; information needs of the respondents, the roles of ICTs in rural women empowerment and constraints to the use of ICT devices by the respondents. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents and oral interview where necessary. The respondents were 120 rural women farmers purposively selected from the farmers list obtained from the ADP (Agricultural Development Project) Office in the Area. The results indicate that 54.2% of the respondents are married, 57.5% with secondary education, 52.5% hold a farm size of 0.25 – 1 hectare of land. ICT devices in use include mobile phones, television, radio and other devices. They need information on inputs, prices, markets, produce demand, new practices and technologies. ICT play various roles in empowering the women such as offering entrepreneurial opportunity, breaking isolation, providing linkages to inputs and markets, assisting small and medium size business, reducing poverty, and illiteracy and improving income and savings of rural women. The problems affecting use of ICT devices include absence and erratic supply of electricity, lack of ICT skills, low level of awareness etc. Government should provide basic amenities to the rural dwellers to improve their socio-economic well-being.
19 pages., Information is an important factor in agricultural development. The study investigated farmers’ agricultural information needs and seeking behavior in the Southern Regional State of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional research design was employed and the study population included all household heads of the eight sampled villages in four administrative zones. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to obtain a sample of 320 farmers. Quantitative data were collected and research adopted descriptive statistics. The results revealed information on crop production technologies; information about diseases, pests and weather forecasts, and market information were identified as the top three most important types of agricultural information. Similarly, crop production technologies; animal husbandry technologies, and information about agricultural inputs were the information farmers seek frequently. Farmers use development agents as the first source of agricultural information. All of the respondents communicate with development agents face-to-face.
