Browsing by Author "Shuaib, S. B."

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    Assessment of Agricultural Information Needs and Accessibility Methods Used by Smallholder Farmers in Ilorin-West Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria
    (2020-12) Yusuf, O. J.; Shuaib, S. B.; Nofiu, N. B.
    This study assessed agricultural information needs and accessibility methods used by smallholder farmers in obtaining agricultural information in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State. The structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from a total of one hundred and ten (110) respondents selected through a multistage sampling procedure. The results showed majority of the respondents (73.6% and 72.7%) indicated the need for information on 'fertilizer usage to increase their productivity and 'improved seeds and seedlings' respectively. Also, 77.3% needed information on crop variety to grow at a given season to ensure the marketability of such crop. Radio was the most prominently used means of obtaining agricultural information (2.0). Extension agents, with a mean score of 1.67, was the fifth most commonly used source for obtaining agricultural information. Prominent among the constraints to agricultural information accessibility were the inability to understand technical language used during information accessibility (2.0) and the language barrier (1.79). Also, gender (χ = 4.56) and age category (χ = 5.32) had a significant association with the information accessibility method (at p <0.05). The need to enhance extension agents' performance in reaching smallholder farmers withrequisite and timely agricultural information on various areas of agriculture particularly in their local languages is recommended.