Policy Issues in Meeting Rice Farmers Agricultural Information Needs in Niger State

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing rice farmers agricultural information needs and the constraints faced in sourcing for information. Primary data were collected through field survey from 5 out of 8 Local Government Areas (LGA) in Zone 1 of Niger State Agricultural development Programme (NSADP) where lowland rice is a major crop. From each of the LGAs, two villages were randomly selected and one farmers group were randomly selected per village. From a total of 234 farmers a total of 186 farmers were interviewed representing 80% of the population. Result of data analysis, revealed that about 73% of the respondents usually seek for information from extension agents. Majority (72.7%) of farmers seek for information from the extension agents and 37% preferred that information be packaged as audio cassette. Major constraints include lack of funds to acquire information (54.3%) and language barrier (50.5%). The result of the study also indicates a significant relationship between information type and preferred information package (X 2 = 27.96; p < 0.05), readiness to pay for information package (X 2 =67.45;p < 05) and constraint ((X 2 =33.28;p < 05). No significant relationship between information type and, age (X 2 =0.001;p < 05) , educational level (X 2 =1.59;p < 05), sex (X 2 =1.31;p < 05) and ownership of telephone (X 2 =0.48;p < 05). The data generated will assist in the implementation of the Nigerian Question and Answer Service (NAQAS) under the auspices of National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services, supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation in providing information in all aspects of agriculture on demand to farmers.

Stakeholders’ Information needs, Information Searching and Sharing Behaviour about Rice related Information through Rice Knowledge Management Portal

“…This is in line with the findings of the study by Meitei and Devi (2009) who reported that information related to seed varieties, pesticides and fertilizers were most needed by farmers in rural Manipur. Similarly some author also found the similar result for information needs of the farmers which is mainly information on seeds/input availability (what input to use, how much to use, when and from where to purchase inputs) (Mittal et al, 2013),diseases and pest management (Salau et al, 2013;Shanthasheela et al, 2015), water conservation, post-harvest techniques, irrigation, manure and fertilizer management (Okwu et al, (2009), modern cultivation practices, farmers training programmes, government schemes on agriculture, storage, weather information, sources of farm credit and marketing information (Meera et al, 2004;Tologbonse et al, 2008;and Jalaja et al, 2015).…”

Analyzing Rice Production Issues in the Niger State Area of Nigeria’s Middle Belt

“…It is classified as one of the largest states in the country spanning over 86,000 km 2 in land area with 80% of the land mass conducive for agriculture [22]. With 9.30% of the total land area of the country, Niger state is not only divided into three agricultural zones under climatic features containing nearly all classes of soils of the savannah regions of West Africa [22]. But the soil types range from the shallow soils around the rocky landscapes to deep soils of the valleys.…”

Effects of Adoption of Rice Production Technologies on Farmers’ Income in Borno State, Nigeria

“…Thus, three (3) Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected from each of the three zones giving a total of nine (9) LGAs namely; Dikwa, Marte, Mobbar, Jere, Konduga, Bama, Bayo, Askira-Uba and Shani for the study. Three (3) rice producing villages were randomly selected from each of the nine (9) LGAs, bringing a total of 27 villages from all the three zones.…”

“…As there has not a single unit of productive arable land left, in order to achieve those national goals we have to adopt some modern advanced technologies to boost up the present agricultural output. This may be carried out through increased cropping intensity, providing appropriate time oriented irrigation facilities, wide spread incorporation of modern high yielding varieties [1]., [9], applying the judicial and efficient doses of organic and balanced synthetic fertilizers [3]., [6].…”