Abstract
The study analyzed information sources preference for effective rural communication services
in rice producing communities of Kano Nigeria. Multistage, purposive and simple random
sampling techniques was used to select two hundred and ten (210) rice farmers comprising of
one hundred and twelve (112) males and ninety-eight (98) females. Structured questionnaire
was used for the data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and
inferential statistics. The result revealed that, majority (58.5%) of male and (62.0%) female
rice producers preferred extension agents and fellow farmers as source of information
respectively. The result revealed that socio-economic factors such as marital status,
educational level, farming experience, farm size, contact with extension agents and on-farm
income influenced preference of information sources by male and female rice producers.
Furthermore, socio-economic factors, institutional factors (membership of cooperative
association, access to credit, frequency of market visit) and psychological factors (attitude
toward improve production motivation, information seeking behavior, and innovation
proneness) influenced rice producers’ access to and use of rice production information. Poor
public relation of extension workers and inadequate credit to purchase technologies was the
major constraint militating against access and used of information obtained respectively. It is
established that extension agents and fellow farmers are the most preferred sources of
information by the farmers. Therefore, it is recommended that, needed information through
appropriate means shall be provided for effective rural communication services.
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