Utilisation of Open Databases in Accessing Agricultural Information among Agricultural Professionals in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the utilization of open databases in accessing agricultural information among agricultural professionals in Rivers State. Two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 240 respondents for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study, while data collected were analysed using mean score, percentages, frequency, Ordinary Least regression analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results show that the agriculture professionals were mainly aware of Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) (100%), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) (96%), World Bank (70%), FAO FAOSTAT (69%) and Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMET) (68%), while NBS (95%), World Bank (84%), National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison (58%) and FAO-FAOSTAT (53%) were the mainly utilized open data bases. The level of education (2.535, p < .05), work experience (0.084, p < .05, household size (0.382, p < .05), age (0.2886, p < .05) and marital status (-2.517, p < .05) were found to influence agriculture professional’s utilisation of open data bases for accessing agriculture information. Also, significant differences existed in the utilization of open databases among agricultural professionals in Rivers state (F (2,237) =2.950, p < .05). The study recommends massive sensitisation and training of agricultural profession to develop skill and capacity for increased use of open data bases.