Information Needs for Rice Farmers and Agricultural Development in Yobe State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the information needs for rice farmers and Agricultural development in Yobe state
Nigeria. It also represents an attempt to establish the nature of information resources which the rice farmers
used to improve their production. In part of this study some important element from which the chapter was
built were captured such as background to the study which dealt with meaning and significance of
information, meaning of information needs from the perspective of conscious and unconscious needs,
meaning of information use, farming as well as rice farming; it also stated the problem from which the
research topic (title) was build, research objectives were also captured. The study reviewed concepts as well
as literature related to this study. Quantitative research methodology using questionnaire as the main
instrument for collecting data was used and research technique used is the descriptive survey research design
in form of cross-sectional method. The population of the study is twenty one thousand four hundred (21,400)
out of which 17,200 respondents from fourteenth L.G.As sampled was used by the researcher in this study,
hence 377 was drawn as sample size of the study. Data collected via questionnaire was tabulated and analyzed
using descriptive statistics. For descriptive data, table, frequency distribution, percentages was used to
organize and summarize the data through the use of SPSS version 16.0. The findings of the study indicated
that: information on irrigation, best seeds, insecticides and diseases control weather conditions, as well as
agricultural credits or loans were the most prominent information needed by the rice farmers. The findings
of the study also indicated that rice farmers used family and parents, personal experiences as the most
preferred information sources. The study established the extent to which the available information sources
and resources used by the respondents. The result revealed that (132:41.0%) used to the large extent. The
findings also revealed that the respondents’ level of satisfaction in the use of information sources and
resources was satisfactory. The respondents also pointed out lack of electricity, financial problems and lack
of available information sources and resources as the major challenges associated with their information
needs and use. The respondents further suggested several recommendations on addressing the challenges
hindering the rice farmers in accessing their agricultural information.