Agricultural Information Provision for Enhancing Crop Productivity in Chibombo District of Zambia
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study was aimed at investigating the agricultural information provision for enhancing crop productivity in Chibombo.The objectives were to determine the kind of agricultural information small scale farmers required; to establish the sources of agriculture information for small scale farmers; to determine the farmers’ level of education and to identify the challenges faced by Small Scale Farmers in accessing agricultural information. The study engaged a case study design. A sample size of 50 small scale farmers was initially taken for the study but only data for 45 respondents were analyzed. Purposively random sampling technique was used for the sample selection and questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS and while qualitative data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The result showed highest information needs in the areas of agricultural technology while the Zambia National Farmers Union was the main source of agricultural information to farmers. Educational level of farmers showed significant relationships with their accessibility to agricultural information. The study results also revealed that the barrier to accessing agricultural information was associated with information communication technologies. It was concluded that information is a vital resource for all agricultural activities. It is therefore recommended that there should be increased budgetary allocation towards agriculture infrastructure development in rural areas to enhance networking of agriculture activities resulting in easy flow of needed agriculture information and productivity
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