Knowledge and skills for accessing agricultural information by rural farmers in South-East Nigeria

Abstract

Rural farmers make up the majority of crop producers in any developing economy. Their level of access to agricultural information stems from the knowledge and skills they possess. This article aims to identify the sources of agricultural information and the level of knowledge and skills rural farmers possess for accessing such information in South-East Nigeria. A structured interview schedule and focus group discussions were used to collect relevant data. The method of analysis involves frequency counts, percentages and means. The study reveals that 41.7% of the respondents were between the ages of 41 and 50, while 62.6% were married, 84.8% were Christians and 29.8% had no formal education. The major source of agricultural information was through friends and co-workers, while the knowledge and skills they possessed for accessing agricultural information were generally low. The work provides an objective framework and measure of the existing competencies, and identifies the need for further skills acquisition.