CHAPTER ONE

1.0  INTRODUCTION

1.1 DEFINITION OF INFORMATION

Information
is referred to anything that you are capable of perceiving, this can include
written communication. Speaking communication, photographs, art, music nearly
anything that is perceivable.  This
includes enormous assortment of stimuli, but realizable, everything we come in
contact, which is capable of providing and does provides us with some sort of
information.

INFORMATION ACCORDING TO WEBSITES
THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY DEFINED:

Information
as a process by which the form of an object of knowledge is impressed upon the
apprehending mind so as to bring about the state of knowing it. This also
includes some thing received or perceived or obtained- through information eg.
Knowledge communicated by others or obtained from investigation, study or
instruction.

FUNK AND WAGNALLS ENCYCLOPEDIA

Sees
information as timely or specific knowledge acquired or derived signal element
forming parts of massage or communication especially one assembled and made
available for use by automatic machines, as in a digital computer usually
machined in bits.

The
Encyclopedia Biotical; Also defined agriculture as the science of cultivating
the soil, growing and harvesting crop and raising livestock.

O.
A. Iwena (2002) Defied agriculture as the production of crops and animals for
man’s use in other words, agriculture is defied as the deliberate effort made
by man to till the soil, cultivate crops and rear animals for food and other
purposes.

TYPES OF AGRICULTURE

There
are two major types of agriculture namely:

a.         
Subsistence agriculture and

b.         
Commercial agriculture.

A.    SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE:

It
is the type of agriculture which is concerned with the production of finding a
farmer to feed himself and his family. In order word subsistence agriculture is
a system of farming where by a farmer cultivates crops and rear animals in
order to provide food for use by himself and his family only.

B.    COMMERCIAL
AGRICULTURE

This
is the type of agriculture which is concerned with production of food. Animals
and cash crops in large quantities for sale. It makes use of modern and complex
tools and implement like tractors, plough, harrows, ridges, planters, which are
required for successfulness of it’s practice.

AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION

    It is a process or methods used in
disseminating new ideas, techniques to farmers. This methods is grouped into
(3) three classes:

a)    INDIVIDUAL METHOD:

The
individual method includes farmer home visits aimed at direct contact between
farmers and the extension agents. The purpose is to give advice or assist on
wide range of farm and its problem. In order to succeed, it may require the
assistance of volunteer leader to arrange meetings as to develop public
relations with organization and important individuals.

b)     GROUP
METHOD:

The
group method involves the works together with groups of farmer supervision of
the extension worker. (Eg)

i.      Symposia

ii.     Lectures

iii.    Debates

iv.    Group demonstration

v.     Extrusion

vi.    Field trips

vii.   Agricultural show.

Agriculture
show is usually organized by state or even federal government and it includes
demonstration/ Exhibition of farmer product from improved agricultural
practices.

c)    MASS MEDIA:

This
method is used to awareness and interest in new ideas and technique among the
majority of farmers. In order words, this method enables many people to know
about the new innovation. Mass media includes CD ROM, radio, Television,
Newspaper, Film show, Computer show case, Pamphlets, Banners, Hand bills and
Handouts.          

APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL
INFORMATION

Over
the years faculty members at university
of Nebraska have designed
computer network system for direct use by farmer’s along with wished
agricultural specialists. There are now more than a thousand users of the
system. The system disseminates/delivers information to Canada.

There
are two board classes of the users:

a.          
Agricultural specialist:- who advices
other farmers

b.          
Individual farmers, business and
agencies making use of system directly.

In
African, a deliberate effort/attempt have been by African governments to bring
about agricultural development without much to show for these efforts. This can
be attributed to the treatment of information delivery as matter of course by
most African government. As often happens agricultural information is not
integrated with other development programs to address the numerous related
problem that face farmers.

Information
is an essential ingredient in 
agricultural development programmes but Nigeria farmers seldomly feel the
impact of agricultural innovation either because they have no access to such
vital information or because it is poorly disseminated. The information
provided is exclusively focused on policy maker’s researchers and those who
manage policy decisions with scant attention paid to the information need of
the largest beneficiaries of the policy decision. The non-provision of
agricultural information is a key factor that has greatly limited agricultural
development in development countries.

If
the approaches to agricultural development programmes are to work, African
governments needs to take new approaches to information dissemination and
management that grow out from a clear understanding of what farmers information
need are. For instance a researcher might use beef grower to estimate when a
particular cattle will be ready for sale and what cost and gain of selling will
be.

The
cost of production for various crops can be calculated using crop budget and
the economic value of land estimate with bay land. This programme also provided
new items and message services.

ROLES OF INFORMATION IN
AGRICULTURE

        It is found that most of the role of
information in agricultural development are perceived by many, but performed by
few. Also moist of the role perceived are not performed by many of those who do
perceived them. Industrial revolution taking new turn away from machines and
instrument for taking over contain mental tasks example the handle of all forms
of data thus we have seen the growth of computer from simple to the larger high
speed flexible digital computer of today.

        No one categorically claim to know all
the information need of farmer especially in and an information depended sector
like agriculture, where there are new and rather complex problems facing farmer
every day. It is safe to assert that information need of Nigerian farmers
revolves around the resolution of problems such as pest hazards, weed control
moisture insufficiency, soil fertility, farm credit, labour shortage,
soil/erosion and so forth.

        Information needs by the local farmer
may be in form of extension education, agriculture inputs, agriculture credit
and marketing modern farm inputs are needed to raise small farm productivity.
These inputs may include fertilizers, improved variety of seeds and seedings
feeds, plant, protection chemicals, agricultural machinery and equipment and
water. An examination of the factors influencing the adoption and continued use
of these inputs will show that information dissemination is a very important
factor. It is a factor that requires more attention than it now gets.

        The farmer’s need of information is at
moment being diffused by extension worker, other farmers, government
parastatals and agricultural equipment dealers. The impact is yet to be felt.

        Farmers are among the potential
beneficiaries of agricultural credit in Nigeria but because of their low
levels of literacy they are mostly unaware of credit, farmers need information
relating to source of loan such as names of sources. They need information on
the term of loan such as the interest rates, loan able amount and mode of
repayment regarding agricultural credit debts to small farmers usually through
channels such as relations, friends, neighbours, government officials,
commercial and credit banks. Grass root organs such as village leads and local
government officials are used to diffuse such information because of their
personal touch with small-scale farmer. Extension agent needs to intensify
their effort in educating farmers to increase their level of awareness.

        In Nigeria, ministry of agriculture
through the field level extension worker and 
broadcasting media provides agricultural marketing information farmers.
A lot still have to be done in this area. Some of those in charge of marketing
information are not trained for this job.

AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION
DISSEMINATION

        With the past decades there has been
burst of research activities and agriculture in Nigeria Universities and
agricultural research centre located around all country far researching
innovation that are capable of booting. The farmers agricultural production and
Nigeria’s
economic development have been discovered. The yam minisett-techniques, protein
rich soyabean production and use of animal vaccine and drugs and labour saving
devices are some of the many improved agricultural innovations not properly
diffused. Prominent among the agricultural centres are:-

        International institute for tropical
agriculture (IITA)

        The National Root Crops Research
Institute. But unfortunately, most of these innovations do not reach the
farmers field. This is because the medium for information disseminate in use is
quite ineffective.

PRESENT SITUATION

        Institutional and governmental organ
have been put in place to ensure that farmer get to know and adopt agricultural
innovations relevant to their situation e.g. Agricultural extension and
research license services (AERLS) The extension service of the  agricultural development project (ADP),
ministries of agricultural both state and federal levels, media forum for
agriculture, co-operation extension centers (CEC) of universities and public
enlightenment units of the 18 agricultural research centres. These bodies serve
as facilitators of agricultural message by acting as communications departments.
They use computer, leaflet, newsletters, posters, exhibits, visual aids and
radio, programmes to communicate agricultural information. Radio and television
programmes are popular although controlled by government with its attendant
problems regarding the choice of programmes of all the existing channels of
extension highest in terms of providing credible information and advice,
especially on agricultural technology.

        A major function of extension is to get
the farmers into frame, is fairly widespread in the middle belt region of Nigeria where
information about fertilizer is well diffused. Even through the demand for
fertilizer is buyout, the supply is mostly inadequate to meet the demands.

        Apart from use of extension for
diffusion of agricultural innovation, other channels like rural development
field staff, contact farmer, schoolteacher’s private sector, agric-business
people staff of the ministry of agriculture and the electronic and print media
are used. These channels have their strengths and weakness farmer to strengthen
the effort of the print and broading media in ensuring proper agricultural
information dissemination to farmers the media forum for agricultures was
formed by media practitioners from all over Nigeria, with the aim of providing
better support for agriculture by improving the quality of agricultural
coverage in the media.

        Again the targeted audience is not
properly reached as the main beneficiaries of information carried by printed
media and broad casting are urban elites not people at the grass root.

        The purpose of agricultural development
programmes (ADP) was to evolve a new concept of reaching the farmer with
research findings  and new discoveries in
farming operations, this was not so, owing to the fact that most times farmers
are left on their own while extension workers were quite busy trying to
urbanize their work/accommodations. The problem of agricultural development
cannot be discussed only in term of policies of the federal government the
technique of production, which emanated from ignorance of the improved
techniques of farming accounted for problems. Nigeria
were more familiar with traditional technique which was in novelty and so not
many Nigeria
farmer’s got used to.

1.2     
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ANAMBRA STATE
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Historical
background:- Background study of agricultural development programme: Anambra
state agricultural development programme (ASADEP), was inaugurated 5th,
1985 as one of the multi-state agricultural development project (MSADP-1) made
up to the South East States.

A
tripartite arrangement between the World Bank, FGNANSG ensures proper finding
for ASADEP. No wonder in 1986, the federal government signed a loan agreement
of USD 162 million for all MSADP-I which at present includes the following
states: Anambra, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Ebonyi, Enugu,
Imo, Kogi, Plateau and Benue.

Old
Anambra state (Anambra and Enugu
States) got USD 22.4
million. That loan was terminated at June 30th 1995. There was an
IFAA (International food and agricultural development). Loan of about USD 1.5
million expired in June 1997. Following the creation of state in Auguest 27,
1991 old Anambra state bifurcated into Anambra and Enugu states. It thus became necessary to
restructure the former Anambra ADP and to establish two ADPS from the new
territories. The World Bank provided fund for the creation of new headquarter
builder in Anambra
State. In January 1992,
the present ASADP moved from Enugu to temporary
office at Enugu
–Ukwu. It was later moved to its own multi-naira magnificent headquaters office
complex. In October 1995, the edifice is located on kilometer 41, Enugu-Onitsha
express Awka.

The
broad objective is to improve the standard of living and welfare of the rural
smell-scales/holder farmer, throughout the state of raising by their
productivity and farm income, via integrated rural development.

1.3  STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

        Despite government effort to promote
food production in Nigeria-through
the use of various policy and programme, it appears that the efforts are yet to
yield enough result. Village farmers are still lacking information about the
latest research findings even where available, many still have no access to it.
Government is bombarding public eardrum with slogans and platitudes: operation
feed the nation, green revolution, self reliance-lots of publication in
different forms like journals, books and bulletin were produced and circulated
among organization agricultural productivity at the village level is still at
the low ebb. The impact of new research finding is yet to be filed at the
village level. Farmers are yearning for new technology that will enhance their
productivity. Information for development is not to be advantages of the rural
farmers the problems militating against effective dissemination of information
to farmers are:

        Lack of adequate and prompt fund for
public awareness activities, lack of adequate and undated materials for
research purposes, communication barrier, topography, wrong perception of
researchers towards farmer illiteracy and superiority complex of research over
farmers. In order to find out place of information in agricultural development,
an analytical research of this nature is necessary and data gathered  will provide empirical evidence that will
guide policy makers, students, researchers, extension workers and development
bank officers for formulation new and better policy.

1.4  OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

i.      To
determine the role of information in Agricultural Development in Nigeria.

ii.     To
test the justification for investing Agricultural Information.

iii.    To
determine various sources of information flows

iv.    To
determine whether the research finding disseminated accomplish the target goal
among farmers.

v.     To
identify the effect of information in agriculture productivity.

1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Any
society with inhibiting human’s must be adequately informed in view of the
relevance of information to every individual in all shares of life. Specially for
agricultural extension staff, researchers and to entire people concerned in the
society.

The
finding of the study will be used to the farmers, extension workers,
researchers, scientists, contract farmers, factories and plantation officers
university staffs and development consultants.

1.6  SCOPE OF THE STUDY

        This research work is limited to
information dissemination on agriculture in Nigeria in development of Anambra
Sate agricultural development programme (ADP) Awka.

1.7  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i.      What
are the role of information in Agricultural development in Nigeria ?

ii      To what
extent is justification for investigating Agricultural information?

iii.    What
are the various source of information flow?

iv.    Do the
research findings disseminated accomplish the target goal among farmers?

v.     What are
the effect of information in Agriculture productivity?

1.8  DEFINITION OF TERMS

For
the purpose of understanding this project work under study, the following terms
are relevant to point out.

1.         
INFORMATION

Information
as a process by which the form of an object of knowledge is impressed upon the
apprehending mind so as to bring about the state of knowing it. This also
includes some thing received or perceived or obtained through informing eg.
knowledge communicated by other or obtained from investigation, study or
instruction.

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