| Abstract: | To enhance agricultural productivity, farmers should have access to timely,
well organized, need based and relevant information. A better understanding
of farmers‘ agricultural information needs and information sources could
help guide extension and other agricultural programs to better target specific
groups of farmers. Farmers differ in their access to and need of agricultural
information. Such diversity among farmers could relate to various personal,
social, economic, psychological, situational and institutional factors.
Understanding reasons behind such diversity and farmers current level of
access and need of agricultural information is paramount importance. This
requires some level of investigation through scientific research to provide
reliable and concrete information concerning agricultural information need
and accessibility. The objectives of this study were to identify agricultural
information needs of the smallholder farmers, to assess the extent of
agricultural information access and its determinant factors, and to identify the
constraints and opportunities in accessing agricultural information by
smallholder farmers. A three-stage sampling procedure was used in which
both non-probability sampling for the study area and probability sampling
procedures were followed to select three kebeles and 151 respondents.
Primary data were collected from the respondents through personal interview
schedules FGD, key informant interview and secondary data also collected
from district Office of Agricultural and Rural Development and by reviewing
relevant materials. A structured interview schedule was used for collecting
the essential quantitative data from the sampled respondents. To generate
qualitative data, field assessment, informal discussion with key informants,
and focus groups discussions were conducted. The quantitative data was
analyzed using descriptive statistical tools, statistical tests (chi-square, and
ANOVA) and the econometric model, namely, ordered logit model. The
major output of the study indicates that agricultural information access of
smallholder farmers was significantly affected by sex, literacy level, extension contact, and Cosmo politeness, information seeking behavior,
innovation proneness, and livestock ownership. The majority of sample
respondents fall in to the low category of information access level. The
constraints that hold back farmers from access to agricultural information
were poor extension system, lack of quality inputs availability, lack of
support of DAs, farmers lack of interest, information not address farmers‘
interest and lack of electricity. Some of opportunities to access agricultural
information where the study area were short proximity to such town as
Shashemene and Hawassa, social Media (Shashemene Fana and Hawassa
FM radio), most of the DAs were the natives of the study area and it has
agricultural institutions (research center, University and NGOs). In
conclusion, policy and development interventions in the study area should
give emphasis to resolve such constraints and to use opportunities effectively
to increase agricultural information accessibility, which will ultimately
increase the productivity and income of smallholder farmers. |
