20 pages., Via online journal., 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 policymakers and researchers from other developing countries to formulate implementation plans to promote agricultural development.
This article is maintained in the office of the Agricultural Communications Program, University of Illinois > "International" section > "Philippines CARD Group" file folder., "...for all their seeming importance, these continuous outpourings of government and foreign aid and the steady diffusion of developmental projects and innovations are only pallatives. Thus, the wheel of agricultural development must reel off with a farmer-oriented concept of development which gives prominent role to farmers' participation in programs which are supposedly designed for their upliftment. ... "How can farmers be mobilized to participate in their own development? Simply by the abolition of 'transmission mentality' in communication and its replacement with a more liberating type of communication that would contain more dialogue..."
