AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION NEEDS AND SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS OF TANQA ABERGELLE WEREDA, CENTRAL ZONE OF TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA

The purpose of this research is to reveal the agricultural information need and seeking behavior of the Abergelle woreda smallholder farmers. In this information era, smallholder farmers’ information needs change with their geographical location, economic, demographic, psychological and institutional factors. Till now to the level of the author’s knowledge no study has been done on the topic in the study area yet, therefore, conducting a research on identifying information need, analyzing the information seeking behaviour and identifying determinant factors for information seeking behaviour underline its importance. From the 19 rural kebeles of the woreda 5 kebele were randomly selected. The sample size was specified based on Yamane (1967) formula and 152 household head were selected by using simple random sampling technique proportion to their population size from the sampled kebele. The study has used both primary and secondary data sources. The primary data were collected through household survey and focus group discussion. Additionally, secondary data were collected by reviewing published and unpublished materials. To analyze information needs and information seeking behavior of the smallholder farmers, frequency distribution and interpretive analysis were employed. Chi-square test and ANOVA were used to check the significance relationship of dependent and independent variables. To identify determinants of information seeking behavior the study used ordered logit model. The analysis was carried out by stata version 12.1. The finding revealed that farmers’ information needs were dissimilar like information on: how to keep their crop and animal health, agronomic practice, rainfall forecasting and market information. Smallholder farmers prefer to seek information from, farmer, agricultural professionals, health extension worker, radio, mobile-phone, agricultural knowledge fair and administrative bodies. The main challenges for meeting agricultural information needs were: shortage of infrastructure, shortage of money for purchase of ICT martial and service fee, lack of interest, low clarity in information packaging, inadequate users’ skill and knowledge. Information seeking behavior of farmers’ was determined positively and significant by radio, mobile, extension contact, participating in agricultural training, social participation, distance from the nearest market and farmers’ perception. However, livestock holding was negatively and significantly influenced. In conclusion, farmers’ information needs are dissimilar that changes over time and the work she/he engaged. Farmers use multiple sources of information as no one source is sufficient in itself. The information seeking behavior of the smallholder farmers were grouped in to low (21.7%), medium (54.61%) and high (23.68%) level. And determined by: ICT ownership, extension contact, training, social participation and perception. Based on the results, the study has recommended that: to make flexible the information provision systems: to strengthen the linkage among stockholders: to give care in information packaging: promoting and giving training on ICTs how to use for information searching: enhance rural power supplying: use socially organizations as a means of information dissemination techniques and to strengthen the existing rural institution by supplying relevant information.