Influence of Socio-economic Factors on the Use of Information Dissemination Channels among Groundnut Farmers in Northwest Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the influence of socio-economic factors in the use of information dissemination channels among groundnut farmers in Northwest Nigeria. The research used primary data collected from 349 smallholder groundnut growers. Chi-squared was used in data analysis. The results indicated that farmers’ place of residence (X2 =169.417, df=15) and sex (X2 =14.049, df=5) had a significant association with the farm visit extension pieces of advice. Also, significant associations were found between respondents’ place of residence (X2 = 169.417, df=15), sex (X2 =14.049, df=5) and income (X2 = 30.956, df= 15) with the use of radio. Furthermore, significant associations were found between respondents’ place of residence (X2 =103.417, df=15), sex (X2 =13.777, df=5) and income (X2 =22.973, df= 15) with the use of mobile phones. The article concludes that farmers’ place of residence, sex and income have a significant effect on their preference to the use of extension visits, radio and mobile phone technology transfer mechanisms in the study areas. It is recommended for constant training and retraining of extension workers to enhance their information delivery skills. Also, government and other stakeholders should give financial and logistic support to the extension workers to make use of diversified information communication channels.