Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 117 Document Number: C12878
Notes:
Papers presented at the 12th Annual Convention and Conference of the Society for Information Science, Hyderabad, India, January 28-30, 1993. 159 pages.
Cross, Timothy L. (author), Dobbins, Craig L. (author), Fuller, Earl I. (author), and King, Robert P. (author)
Format:
Guide
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 94 Document Number: C07180
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, 1994. 38 p. (Station Bulletin 604-1994; North Central Regional Research Publication 337).
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.
