Information Dissemination On Agriculture In Nigeria
[A CASE OF STUDY ANAMBRA STATE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (ADP) AWKA]

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.