Use of Mobile Phone Seeking Information from Different Agricultural Sources

Abstract

The main objectives of this study were to determine the farmers' extent of use of mobile phones by the farmers and to explore the relationships between selected characteristics of the farmers and their extent of use of mobile phones in seeking information from different agricultural sources. Data were collected from randomly selected 102 respondents of five villages of namely Raingamari, Sachibunia, Dorgatola, Jhorvanga and Mathavanga Bathiaghata upazila under Khulna district through personal interview method by the researcher herself using an interview schedule during 6 March to 10 April, 2018. Farmers' extent of use of mobile phone was the dependent variable and the eight selected characteristics of the respondents considered as the independent variables of the study. Most 98% of the respondents had medium level of source-accession using mobile phones while very few 2% of the respondents had low-level of source-accession using mobile phones in seeking agricultural information from different sources. The highest accessed source of agricultural information, based on access regularity, was SAAO (I S) followed by seed dealer (2nd) and model farmer (3rd); while AEO and UAO ranked 4th and 7th respectively in this regard. Most 97.1% of the respondents had low level of use of different mobile communication pathways (e.g., phone call, SMS, etc.) while very few 2.9% of the respondents had medium level of use in their nature of mobile phone use regarding different mobile communication pathways for seeking agricultural information. Highest ranked mobile communication pathway was phone call (1 st) followed by SMS (2nd) and internet surfing (3rd). Among eight selected characteristics of the respondents, age and farming experience showed a significant positive relationship with their extent of use of mobile phone for seeking agricultural information from different sources. Majority (53.9%) of the respondents had medium level of problem confrontation followed by high level of problem confrontation (46.1%). The farmers might be encouraged more by mitigating the faced problems regarding agricultural information seeking by mobile phones because it is an emerging way in information source-accession all over the globe.