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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 11, No. 4
Publication Date: August 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/aivp.114.15052
Makinta, Y., & Yakubu, W. (2023). Information Needs, Information Seeking Behavior and Information Provision to Rural Farmers
in Bogoro Local Government Area, Bauchi State, of Nigeria. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(4). 01-10.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Information Needs, Information Seeking Behavior and
Information Provision to Rural Farmers in Bogoro Local
Government Area, Bauchi State, of Nigeria
Yusuf Makinta
Department of Library and Information Science,
Faculty of Education, University of Maiduguri
William Yakubu
Department of Library and Information Science,
Faculty of Education, University of Maiduguri
ABSTRACT
This study examined information needs, information behavior and information
sources of rural farmers in Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The
study was gadded by four (4) objectives and four (4) research questions. A survey
research design was used for the study with one hundred and twenty-two (122)
populations drawn from farmers association groups (FGAs). The instrument used
included questionnaire, interview and observation. Data collected was analyzed
used descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. The findings
revealed that rural farmers need more information on various aspects of farming
activities. Majority of them do not seek information from governmental, non- governmental agencies and the media. They relied on traditional methods among
others. Four recommendations were proffered.
INTRODUCTION
Bauchi State is located in the North Eastern Zone of Nigeria, created in 1976 by the then military
head of state, General Murtala Muhammad. As it is now Bogoro Local Government Area (LGA)
becomes one of the 20 local governments in Bauchi State. The inhabitants’ of the local
government area are the Zaar or Sayawas , Gerawas, Jarawas, kirfawas , Turawas, Bolewas,
Butawas, Mbadawas, and the Fulanis. Most of these tribes are rural dwellers or farmers.
Preliminary observations and interactions with some of them by the researchers showed that
they require adequate, relevant and sustainable information on modern farming technics to
successfully carry out their farming activities in order to meet their set goals.
The rural farmers live in scattered communities constituting the teeming rural communities
that constitute the majority population of the local government area. The rural communities
could be said to experience information poverty because the information sources and resources
are very remote from them. A apart from the scattered locations characterized by information
poverty, there is a socio-cultural dimensions of illiteracy among the rural communities. The
term illiteracy used in the current study refers to their inability to read, write and comprehend
printed or non-printed information resources in their non-indigenous languages. They are the
silent majority who are economically not buoyant to access information they want.
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 11, Issue 4, August-2023
Telecommunications in the rural areas are always poor and developmental efforts are still
largely traditional. Other predicaments retarding developmental efforts in the area under study
is insecurity: communal clashes, herders-farmers clashes over gracing lands, boko haram
insurgencies and its aftermath, seasonal flooding, bad roads, inadequate health facilities etc.
The researchers interaction with some rural farmers and government officials, indelicate that
there were efforts from government agencies like the National Agricultural Extension and
Research Liaison Service (NAERLS) that set up branches tagged National Farmers Helpline
Centers(NFHCs) to distribute improved seeds, providing relevant information and advisory
services. However, it seemed the impact of governmental agencies are yet to be felt as the
farmers are yet to be transformed from manual traditional farming practices to modern
mechanization. Even in the area of animal husbandry, the Fulani tribal groups who are
sedentary who are popularly referred to as Cattle Herders visibly roaming with their cattle,
goats, sheep and camels searching for water and gracing lands causing conflicts with other
farmers and disrupting traffics on major roads.
Based on the researchers’ observations, it seemed the rural farmers in Bogoro Local
Government Area were facing challenges of having access to appropriate information on
various aspects of sustainable agricultural development. The researchers therefore assessed
their information needs, information seeking behavior and information resource provision as
well as their awareness of the available information agricultural programmes organized by or
non-governmental agencies.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study determined:
1. Information needs of rural farmers in Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi State
2. Information seeking behavior of rural farmers in Bogoro Local Government of Bauchi
State
3. Information sources provision to rural famers in Bogoro Local Government Area of
Bauchi State
4. Awareness of available information programmes on rural farming activities.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions guided the study:
1. What are the information needs of rural farmers in Bogoro Local Government Area
2. What are the information seeking behavior of rural farmers in Bogoro Local Area
3. What are the available information sources rural farmers consult in Bogoro Local
Government Area
4. What level of awareness of information programmes mounted towards improving rural
farming activities in Bogoro Local Government Area
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The beneficiaries of the outcome of the study are the rural farmers, governmental and non- governmental agencies concerned with agricultural development, researchers and policy- makers. The rural farmers will benefit if the outcome of the study is translated into local
languages and transmitted through their village heads, community leaders, and local
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Makinta, Y., & Yakubu, W. (2023). Information Needs, Information Seeking Behavior and Information Provision to Rural Farmers in Bogoro Local
Government Area, Bauchi State, of Nigeria. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(4). 01-10.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.114.15052
government information offices. This will encourage the rural farmers to embrace literacy as a
means of improving their way of live. Governmental and Non-governmental agencies as well as
policy makers will benefit with the outcome of the study in agricultural planning.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study covered famers that engage in various rural farming activities and registered
members of five (5) Farmers Association Groups (FGAs) in Bogoro Local Government Area of
Bauchi State. The farmers’ groups are: Barkudu Youth Rice Farmers (BYRF), Dandalin
Makiyaya(DM), Bogoro 11Field Farmers Cooporation Society (BFFC), Talati Group(TG) and Vi- nangbon Farmers Group (VYFG). The variables studied include information needs, information
seeking behviour, and information provision and information awareness.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This study is anchored on Information Needs Concept and Information Seeking Behavior
Concept. According to Charles Naumer and karen Fisher (2017) the concept of “information
need” has no universally accepted definition but it dependent on the perspective to which it is
used. It is a user centered paradigm in linkage with models of information seeking which is
relatively new area of Library and Information Science (LIS) which forms a major part of “User
Studies”.
Wilson’s (1981) Model of Information Behavior
Information User
Information seeking
behavior
Need
Demand on other
Information Sources
Failure
Demand on Information
System
Success
Information Transfer
Information Use
Satisfaction or Non
satisfaction
Information Exchange
Other People
Fig 1: wilson’s Information Behavior Model
Like other social science terms, any attempt to define information one is confronted with
semantic terminological and conceptual difficulties. Aguolu (2002) puzzles “Does information
belongs to informatics, to management information systems, to objective and documentary
information, or to information belonging to public relations as activity”? Information tends to
be used by some scholars interchangeably for data or knowledge. However, the importance of
information in human development cannot be overemphasized. Information is required for
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 11, Issue 4, August-2023
every day activity in all disciplines and professions. Information can be stored in books,
periodicals, newspapers, technical reports, pamphlets, microforms, conference or seminar
papers of learned societies and professional associations, magnetic tapes, audio-visual
materials etc. digital or printed. According to Ochogwu (1998) the relationship in proper
generation, organization, accessibility and utilization of information between the urban and
rural especially in the developing countries like Nigeria can be likened to the international
symmetries or imbalances between the north and the south blocks when we talk of
international politics of information. In other words, the north as considered as developed or
industrialized countries compared with the south consisting of less developed countries. Thus,
the urban communities in Nigeria relatively enjoy some form of information overload because
they are nearer to sources of information as compared to the rural communities who are always
in dilemma of information poverty because they are very remote from information sources.
In a study entitled “The Library in Rural Nigeria: Expectations of the Twenty-first Century
“Makinta and Dawha (1992) captured some characteristics of the rural dwellers in their rural
environments. They constitute about 70% of Nigeria’s population and are illiterate in terms of
lack of developing reading culture. They live in small and scattered communities; have poor
transport and road systems and generally lack money to facilitate commercial activities.
Governmental development efforts are urban biased, thus the ruralites suffer from deficiency
of essential infrastructure like inadequate water for human and animal consumption and for
dry season farming as well as functional libraries and information centers. However, majority
of dwellers still depend on traditional farming, carpentry, weaving, dyeing etc. at survival level.
Certainly, this situation has implication for libraries and information centers especially national
and public libraries that are ICT complaints. They should not merely store documents and
preserve them, but should device mean by which the contents of such documents are rapidly
and effectively transmitted to not only urban centers but to the majority rural dwellers.
In a study carried out by John,Wakilu and Olateju (2013) on agricultural information needs of
rural farmers in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria, out of one hundred and
twenty (120) farmers, eighty percent (80%) of the sampled farmers expressed their
information needs for various purposes of agricultural activities ranging from reliable
seedlings, safe fertilizer application, storage, etc. as well as how to obtain loan from
governmental and non- governmental financial organizations. They however expressed low
satisfaction having access to agricultural information being provided by libraries and
information centers, governmental agencies like that of Ministry of Information (MI), National
Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Electronic Media (EM). They have little or no idea of agro- industrialization as their farm products are either consumed or retailed in local markets.
In a related study, Bernard, Dulls and Honesta (2014) assessed the information needs of rice
farmers in some selected villages in Kilombero District, Mongoro Region in Tanzania. The result
of the study revealed that rice farmers had variety of information needs relating to agricultural
product marketing, weather conditions, agricultural credit/loan accessioning, storage
methods, agricultural diseases, pest control and safe handling of pesticides.
There is no doubt Information needs in every human endeavor is always full of uncertainties
which can only be resolved through information seeking. In other words, information behavior,
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Makinta, Y., & Yakubu, W. (2023). Information Needs, Information Seeking Behavior and Information Provision to Rural Farmers in Bogoro Local
Government Area, Bauchi State, of Nigeria. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(4). 01-10.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.114.15052
information use and information sources provision are products of information needs.
According to Wilson (2000) information seeking behavior is the totality of human behavior in
relation to sources and channels of information, including both active and passive information
seeking and information use. Information seeking behavior cuts across all subjects of human
development in communities; weather underdeveloped, developing or developed.
METHODOLOGY
A research survey method was adopted for the study, the population of the study consisted of
136 members of 5 different Farmers Association Groups (FGAs’) in Bogoro Local Government
Area. The researchers used a self-designed Questionnaire titled Assessment of Information
Needs and Seeking Behavior of Rural Farmers in Bogoro Bauchi State (AINASBORFIBBS) as tool
for data collection. Interviews/discussion were also conducted. One hundred and thirty six
(136) questionnaire were distributed and 122 valid copies were collected. The data collected
were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages.
Table1: Demographic data: educational qualification, age, farming experience and
farming period engagement= (122)
S/NO. Educational Qualification Frequency Percentage (%)
I Primary School Certificate 8 7
Ii Secondary School Certificate 44 36
Iii NCE /ND Certificate 48 39
Iv HND/Degree Certificate 20 16.
V Others 2 2
S/NO. Age and Farming Experience Frequency Percentage (%)
I 5-10 YEARS 18 14
Ii 11-15 years 20 16
Iii 16-20 years 21 17
Iv 16-20 years 21 17
V 21 and 25 40 33
Vi 26 and above 40 33
S/No. Farming period Engagement Frequency %
I Rainy Season Farming 18 15
Ii Dry Season Farming 6 5
Iii (Both rainy/dry season farming) 35 29
Iv Mixed farming
Total 122 100
Source: Field Survey, 2023
Table 1: Shows that the selected farmers under study had formal education. In other words,
they are literate in terms of comprehending simple reading and writing in English or any other
Nigerian languages. As per age and farming experience, majority are 26 and above years of age
under the study.
The farmers also have specific periods of farming. The periods are rainy seasons and dry
seasons. They practice mixed farming involving growing of crops and rising of lives stock.
However, mixed farming practices could not accurately be determined due to the fact that