- Title
- Accessibility of agricultural information by smallholder farmers in Amatole District Municipality: Nexus between agricultural extension services and the library
- Creator
- Sigigaba, Masimthembe
- Subject
- Farms, Small
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Date
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18849
- Identifier
- vital:42870
- Description
- Accessibility to relevant, accurate and timely information remains vital in farming. For farmers to improve their productivity they depend on access to pertinent agricultural information. Such information updated them about new agricultural technologies, climate change, new cultivars, access to market and access to financial assistance. These types of information help farmers in decision making regarding their farming. Agricultural extension officers remain a reliable source where farmers could obtain relevant agricultural information. Community libraries are also channels that could be used by agricultural extension officers to complement their work of providing farmers with information. Thus, the study sought to assess linkage between these two institutions to provide farmers with information. A positivism paradigm with quantitative research approach were adopted in the study. Smallholder farmers (169), agricultural extension officers (5) and librarians (15) were the unit of analysis. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection and SPSS software for analysis. Findings revealed that, agricultural extension officers mostly utilise interpersonal channels that include demonstrations, group meetings and face-to-face interaction to provide farmers with information. Community libraries were found to be non-utilised by extension services and also by farmers. Farmers were of the perception that libraries are meant for educated people. It was also discovered that community libraries have information on agriculture that only targets learners who are taking agriculture in school as a subject. There was no existing linkage between agricultural extension services and community libraries working together to provide farmers with pertinent agricultural information that can help them improve productivity
- Format
- 117 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science and Agriculture
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Sigigaba_201410544_Agricultural Extension.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |