Understanding agricultural grower’s information seeking: An analysis of Internet sources

Abstract

Information is indispensable for the sustainability and growth of every type of business. Farmers are also among those who cannot survive without the proper acquisition and application of Information. However, very few studies have considered the farmer’s need for and the seeking of information which is why to fill this gap, the study looked into the information sources used by farm growers to get the required information, the influence of land size on the utilization of information sources, and how different characteristics related to sources and individuals influence attitude toward the usage of internet sources and provided a model that takes into consideration crucial factors and their influence on attitude toward searching for information from Internet sources. Data were acquired from 400 farmers using a multistage stratified disproportionate sampling procedure and a standardized questionnaire. For evaluating the given data, various analysis techniques were utilized such as Descriptive statistics, Correlation analysis, One-way ANOVA, Factor analysis, and Multiple regression Analysis. The data were evaluated by using SPSS version 25. Farmers, according to the findings, mostly rely on other farmers and input dealers, and mass media sources of information like radio, television, magazines, and newspapers, to acquire information associated with agricultural activities. They commonly utilize mobile social media apps when surfing the internet. Furthermore, the findings discovered that there is a significant difference in the usage of various sources of information, including television, radio, newspapers/magazines, other farmers, input dealers, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Krishi melas, the state department of agriculture, state agriculture universities, and the Internet on mobile phones-social media applications, depending on the farmers’ farm size. The findings also revealed that the factors that were significantly positively associated with farmers’ attitudes about internet use were, perceived usefulness, ease of use, information quality, facilitating conditions, and social influence. The technology Acceptance Model was used as the foundation for the research framework. By examining past research, the study has discovered additional factors that may influence technology adoption in addition to the two main components of the Technology Acceptance Model, namely perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The proposed model may assist information providers in their attempts to lessen and overcome barriers to farmers’ usage of technology. When building effective extension and dissemination programs, the preferred information-gathering modalities of a certain group of farmers should be considered. Intervention techniques must take into account the wide range of information that needs to be seen in farming communities. As a result, information providers must provide context-specific information through the sources that farmers prefer, while also considering the factors that influence their adoption and overcoming those barriers that prohibit farmers from using such sources. The study categorized farmers into four categories based on land size, which would assist information providers in acquiring a thorough grasp of each category of farmer and in developing separate and unique strategies for each type of farmer.