AKSU Journal of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
ISSN(Online): 2736-0040 ISSN(Print): 2695-1975
ISSN(Online): 2736-0040 ISSN(Print): 2695-1975
Abstract
This study assessed the influence of social media on agricultural information dissemination among cucumber farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained from135 respondents, using a multi-stage sampling procedure and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Result shows that majority (70.37%) of respondents were females, within the age range of 51- 60 years, mostly (54.2%) married with a household size of 5 – 8 persons. Also, majority (43.70%) attended secondary education and had been farming within 11 – 15 years. Social media platforms mostly used were; Facebook (81.48%), WhatsApp (80.74%) and YouTube (78.52%). The level of awareness of agricultural information on social media was high on fertilizer application information (80.00%), monitoring of pest and diseases (78.52%) and planting information (77.38%) while climate and weather information rated lowest with 11.85%. The most severe constraints were; high cost of data (x̄ = 2.77), limited access to extension services (x̄ = 2.77) and high cost of smart phones (x̄ = 2.73). The study concluded that farmers leveraging on technology like social media could influence them to best farming practices and boost their agricultural production as they get to communicate with colleagues, agricultural experts and Scientist around the globe. The study recommended that policy makers, and non-governmental organizations should organize training for farmers, and farmer groups on how to use smart phones, social media and information and communication technologies for effective agricultural production.