Factors influencing the information needs and information access channels of farmers: An empirical study in Guangdong, China

Abstract

Information plays an important role in meeting the quantitative and qualitative goals of agriculture in the 21st century. As an emerging economy in a developing continent, China has already made many interventions to use information technology to support agricultural development. However, information service in some rural areas is still severely limited. The overall impact of the changing information environment on the farmers’ information needs and access channels has not been fully studied. Thus, this study systematically investigates the characteristics of the information needs and channels of farmers in Guangdong, China. We have collected 4006 questionnaire samples and used correlation analysis to explore the relationships between farmers’ information needs and access channel preferences. The results indicate that individual characteristic factors, social factors and family factors have different degrees of influence on farmers’ information needs and access channel preferences. These findings can provide a reference for information construction in the rural areas of Guangdong Province and thus promote its economic development. This study can also provide useful insights for policy-makers and researchers from other developing countries to formulate implementation plans to promote agricultural development.

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

“…The insignificance of age to the use of radio could likely be that farmers have other means of receiving information such as peer groups, friends, relatives and neighbours. The result is in line with the empirical evidence found in the work of (Chen et al, 2020) that older farmers' accorded much priority to agricultural market information received from their colleagues, at the expense of other production information. In addition, the sex of the respondents' portrayed a significant association (X 2 = 14.049, df=5) with the utilization of radio.…”

Factors affecting farmers' intention to use ECEs in Covid-19 pandemic: combining the technology acceptance model (TAM) and barrier factors

“…These factors mean that the lower the KEB, the higher the PU and PEU. Information plays an essential role in agricultural economic development (Chen and Lu, 2019) and human decision-making (Raghunathan, 1999). Access to formal information affects farmers' perceptions, leading to technology adoption behavior (Lambrecht et al, 2014).…”

Marketing Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Smallholder Livestock Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…Various studies have reported the effect of different factors on information-seeking behaviour (Azadeh and Ghasemi, 2015;Brhane et al, 2017;Chen and Lu, 2019;Ochei-Idiake et al, 2016;Waqas, Khan, Nosheen and Ahmad, 2015). Chen and Lu (2019) outlined how individual, social and family characteristics influenced information needs and access channel preferences. Brhane et al (2017) also reported that information seeking behaviour was affected by a variety of factors ranging from geographic location, economic status, to demographic characteristics, psychological and institutional factors.…”