[go: up one dir, main page]

IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/iaae12/126226.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Farmers' information needs and search behaviors: Case study in Tamil Nadu, India

Author

Listed:
  • Babu, Suresh Chandra
  • Glendenning, Claire J.
  • Okyere, Kwadwo Asenso
  • Govindarajan, Senthil Kumar
Abstract
Public agricultural extension systems often fail due to inadequate consultation of farmers about their information needs and poor understanding of their information search strategies. In discussing and implementing extension programs and advisory services, the following questions need to be addressed: What information do the farmers need? How and where do they search for information? What factors determine their search behavior? How much are they willing to pay for their information? While the first two sets of questions are addressed fairly well in the literature, the latter two have not yet been attempted in the context of developing countries. Using a case study of two districts in South India, we examine farmer information needs and their information search behavior, factors affecting their search behavior, and their willingness to pay for information. Cluster analysis on access, frequency and use of information sources identified four farmer information search behaviors – high, medium, semi-medium and low. The groups differed significantly by post-high school studies, household economic status, cultivated land area, agricultural income, and membership to a farmer-based organization (FBO) and a Primary Agricultural Cooperative Bank (PACB). We use these four information search behaviors to examine differences in information needs, sources used and preferred sources. The important information needs related to rice included pest and disease management, pesticide and fertilizer application, seed variety, seed treatment. Rice production practices and credit information was more important for the low search group. Private input dealers and the state department of agricultural extension staff were the main information sources, though use of these two sources decreased with greater information searching. High and medium searchers used a greater number of sources, which also included print media and TV. The major constraints to information access, common to all search groups, were poor reliability and timeliness. The preferred medium of information was interpersonal contacts followed by information via mobile phones, where a helpline or voice messages was preferred over SMS. Through a contingent valuation technique it was found that farmers’ willingness to pay for voice-based mobile phone messages was low. The results show that the delivery of agricultural information, tailored to the different information search behaviors of farmers, is important to consider for extension programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Babu, Suresh Chandra & Glendenning, Claire J. & Okyere, Kwadwo Asenso & Govindarajan, Senthil Kumar, 2012. "Farmers' information needs and search behaviors: Case study in Tamil Nadu, India," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126226, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae12:126226
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.126226
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/126226/files/Farmers%20information%20needs%20and%20search%20behaviour%20case%20study%20in%20Tamil%20Nadu%20India.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.126226?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Solano, C. & Leon, H. & Perez, E. & Herrero, M., 2003. "The role of personal information sources on the decision-making process of Costa Rican dairy farmers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 3-18, April.
    2. Jenny C. Aker, 2011. "Dial “A” for agriculture: a review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(6), pages 631-647, November.
    3. Florian Diekmann & Cäzilia Loibl & Marvin T. Batte, 2009. "The Economics of Agricultural Information: Factors Affecting Commercial Farmers' Information Strategies in Ohio," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(4), pages 853-872, December.
    4. Jenny C. Aker, 2011. "Dial “A” for Agriculture: A Review of Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries - Working Paper 269," Working Papers 269, Center for Global Development.
    5. Jock R. Anderson, 2004. "Agricultural Extension: Good Intentions and Hard Realities," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 41-60.
    6. Edward L. Glaeser & David Laibson & Bruce Sacerdote, 2002. "An Economic Approach to Social Capital," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(483), pages 437-458, November.
    7. Adhiguru, P. & Birthal, Pratap Singh & Kumar, B. Ganesh, 2009. "Strengthening Pluralistic Agricultural Information Delivery Systems in India," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 22(1), January.
    8. Anatoli Marantidou & Anastasios Michailidis & Afroditi Papadaki-Klavdianou, 2011. "Information and Communication technologies as agricultural extension tools," Scientific Bulletin - Economic Sciences, University of Pitesti, vol. 10(1), pages 114-125.
    9. Bryson R. Carter & Marvin T. Batte, 1993. "Identifying Needs and Audiences in Farm Management Outreach Education," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 15(3), pages 403-415.
    10. Gary Schnitkey & Marvin Batte & Eugene Jones & Jean Botomogno, 1992. "Information Preferences of Ohio Commercial Farmers: Implications for Extension," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 74(2), pages 486-496.
    11. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2000. "The Contributions of the Economics of Information to Twentieth Century Economics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(4), pages 1441-1478.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Henriyadi Henriyadi & Vatcharaporn Esichaikul & Chutiporn Anutariya, 2022. "A Conceptual Model for Development of Small Farm Management Information System: A Case of Indonesian Smallholder Chili Farmers," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-23, June.
    2. Babu, Suresh Chandra & Joshi, P.K. & Glendenning, Claire J. & Kwadwo, Asenso-Okyere & Rasheed, Sulaiman V., 2013. "The State of Agricultural Extension Reforms in India: Strategic Priorities and Policy Options," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 26(2).
    3. Sajesh, V. K. & Suresh, A., 2016. "Public-Sector Agricultural Extension in India: A Note," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 6(1), July.
    4. Zeping Hu & Tianshu Zhang & Kaiyue Zhang & Xinran Li, 2024. "Analyzing the Impact of Internet Use on Peer Effects in Farmers’ Adoption of Clean Energy: Strengthening or Weakening?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-21, September.
    5. Govil, Richa & Rana, Garima, 2017. "Demand for Agricultural Information among Women Farmers: A Survey from Karnataka, India," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 7(1), July.
    6. Sony K. C. & Bishnu Raj Upreti, 2017. "The Political Economy of Cardamom Farming in Eastern Nepal: Crop Disease, Coping Strategies, and Institutional Innovation," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, May.
    7. Ayandiji, A. & Afolabi, C. O. & Olaojo, G. O., 2021. "Use of Social Media in Sourcing Agricultural Information Among Farmers in Oyo Central Senatorial District, Oyo State, Nigeria," Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology, Rural Sociological Association of Nigeria, vol. 21(1), January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Babu, Suresh Chandra & Glendenning, Claire J. & Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo & Govindarajan, Senthil Kumar, 2012. "Farmers’ information needs and search behaviors: Case study in Tamil Nadu, India," IFPRI discussion papers 1165, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Birthal, Pratap S. & Kumar, Shiv & Negi, Digvijay S. & Roy, Devesh, 2015. "The Impact of Information on Returns from Farming," Policy Papers 345005, ICAR National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NIAP).
    3. Babu, Suresh Chandra & Joshi, P.K. & Glendenning, Claire J. & Kwadwo, Asenso-Okyere & Rasheed, Sulaiman V., 2013. "The State of Agricultural Extension Reforms in India: Strategic Priorities and Policy Options," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 26(2).
    4. Nikam, Vinayak & Ashok, Arathy & Pal, Suresh, 2022. "Farmers' information needs, access and its impact: Evidence from different cotton producing regions in the Maharashtra state of India," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Birthal, Pratap S & Hazrana, Jaweriah & Saxena, Raka, 2022. "Investigating the impact of information on the efficiency of smallholder dairy production systems in India and the lessons for livestock extension policy," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 35(2), December.
    6. Emmanuel Olatunbosun Benjamin & Oreoluwa Ola & Hannes Lang & Gertrud Buchenrieder, 2021. "Public-private cooperation and agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of Nigerian growth enhancement scheme and e-voucher program," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 129-140, February.
    7. George W. Norton & Jeffrey Alwang, 2020. "Changes in Agricultural Extension and Implications for Farmer Adoption of New Practices," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 8-20, March.
    8. Kondylis, Florence & Mueller, Valerie, 2012. "Seeing is Believing? Evidence from a Demonstration Plot Experiment in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Qian Liu & Yongmu Jiang & Carl‐Johan Lagerkvist & Wei Huang, 2023. "Extension services and the technical efficiency of crop‐specific farms in China," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 436-459, March.
    10. Fisher, Monica & Holden, Stein T. & Katengeza, Samson P., 2017. "Adoption of CA technologies among Followers of Lead Farmers: How Strong is the Influence from Lead Farmers?," CLTS Working Papers 7/17, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 21 Oct 2019.
    11. Baiyegunhi, L.J.S. & Majokweni, Z.P. & Ferrer, S.R.D., 2019. "Impact of outsourced agricultural extension program on smallholder farmers’ net farm income in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-7.
    12. Denise Hörner & Adrien Bouguen & Markus Frölich & Meike Wollni, 2019. "The Effects of Decentralized and Video-based Extension on the Adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management – Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia," NBER Working Papers 26052, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. World Bank, 2020. "Sudan Agriculture Value Chain Analysis," World Bank Publications - Reports 34103, The World Bank Group.
    14. Rick S. Llewellyn & Brendan Brown, 2020. "Predicting Adoption of Innovations by Farmers: What is Different in Smallholder Agriculture?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 100-112, March.
    15. Chris Knudson & Zack Guido, 2019. "The missing middle of climate services: layering multiway, two-way, and one-way modes of communicating seasonal climate forecasts," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 171-187, November.
    16. repec:pcz:journl:v:6:y:2012:i:1:p:151-161 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Anderson Jock R. & Birner Regina & Nagarajan Latha & Naseem Anwar & Pray Carl E., 2021. "Private Agricultural R&D: Do the Poor Benefit?," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 3-14, May.
    18. Yi Cai & Wene Qi & Famin Yi, 2023. "Smartphone use and willingness to adopt digital pest and disease management: Evidence from litchi growers in rural China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 131-147, January.
    19. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can mobile phones improve gender equality and nutrition? Panel data evidence from farm households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 95-103.
    20. Jenny Aker & Joel Cariolle, 2022. "The Use of Digital for Public Service Provision in Sub-Saharan Africa," Post-Print hal-03003899, HAL.
    21. Arslan, Cansın & Wollni, Meike & Oduol, Judith & Hughes, Karl, 2022. "Who communicates the information matters for technology adoption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International Development;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:iaae12:126226. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iaaeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.