IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/jikmxx/v18y2019i03ns0219649219500370.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors that Influence Farmers’ Information Seeking Behaviour: A Study of Sri Lankan Vegetable Farmers

Author

Listed:
  • M. G. P. P. Mahindarathne

    (Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka†Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China)

  • Qingfei Min

    (#x2020;Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China)

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a vital role in disseminating agricultural information. In this backdrop, to make use of ICT for a prolific agriculture information dissemination, it is vitally important to gain a comprehensive understanding of the farmers’ information seeking behaviour. Despite the vitality, very few informational studies have been carried in Sri Lankan agriculture, particularly with respect to vegetable farmers in the country. To bridge this existing knowledge gap, this study sets out to investigate the information seeking behaviour (ISB) of vegetable farmers in Sri Lanka. Wilson’s general model of information seeking behaviour 1996 was selected to guide the present study. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 289 vegetable farmers and were analysed by performing a regression analysis. The regression analysis revealed that vegetable farmers’ ISB is greatly influenced by their information need and the channel characteristics. The regression results further revealed that the demographic characteristics such as age, education, farming experience and training, operational factors such as land extent, land ownership and types of farming system, and personal and role-related factors such as perception of agri-information and information sharing behaviour also influence vegetable farmers’ ISB significantly. The study findings will inform the policymakers, information systems and applications designers, and researchers about the factors that affecting on ISB of farmers. Furthermore, this study will help stimulate similar studies in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • M. G. P. P. Mahindarathne & Qingfei Min, 2019. "Factors that Influence Farmers’ Information Seeking Behaviour: A Study of Sri Lankan Vegetable Farmers," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(03), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jikmxx:v:18:y:2019:i:03:n:s0219649219500370
    DOI: 10.1142/S0219649219500370
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219649219500370
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S0219649219500370?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McCown, R. L., 2002. "Changing systems for supporting farmers' decisions: problems, paradigms, and prospects," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 179-220, October.
    2. Jenny C. Aker, 2011. "Dial “A” for agriculture: a review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(6), pages 631-647, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Omar Abu Hassim & Ismah Osman & Asmah Awal & Fhaisol Mat Amin, 2024. "Navigating the Path to Equitable and Sustainable Digital Agriculture among Small Farmers in Malaysia: A Comprehensive Review," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 16(2), pages 173-188.
    2. Emmanuel Olatunbosun Benjamin & Oreoluwa Ola & Hannes Lang & Gertrud Buchenrieder, 2021. "Public-private cooperation and agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of Nigerian growth enhancement scheme and e-voucher program," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 129-140, February.
    3. Blazquez-Soriano, Amparo & Ramos-Sandoval, Rosmery, 2022. "Information transfer as a tool to improve the resilience of farmers against the effects of climate change: The case of the Peruvian National Agrarian Innovation System," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    4. Preusse, Verena & Wollni, Meike, 2021. "Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in the context of urbanisation and environmental stress – Evidence from farmers in the rural-urban interface of Bangalore, India," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 312690, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. World Bank, 2020. "Sudan Agriculture Value Chain Analysis," World Bank Publications - Reports 34103, The World Bank Group.
    6. George W. Norton & Jeffrey Alwang, 2020. "Changes in Agricultural Extension and Implications for Farmer Adoption of New Practices," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 8-20, March.
    7. Yoko Kijima, 2022. "Effect of Nigeria’s e-voucher input subsidy program on fertilizer use, rice production, and household income," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 919-935, August.
    8. Torres Franco, Nicolás Arturo & Dávalos, Eleonora & Morales, Leonardo Fabio, 2021. "Heterogeneous Effects of Agricultural Technical Assistance in Colombia," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(4), pages 459-481, November.
    9. Chris Knudson & Zack Guido, 2019. "The missing middle of climate services: layering multiway, two-way, and one-way modes of communicating seasonal climate forecasts," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 171-187, November.
    10. Mompremier, R. & Her, Y. & Hoogenboom, G. & Migliaccio, K. & Muñoz-Carpena, R. & Brym, Z. & Colbert, R.W. & Jeune, W., 2021. "Modeling the response of dry bean yield to irrigation water availability controlled by watershed hydrology," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    11. Bahia, Kalvin & Castells, Pau & Cruz, Genaro & Masaki, Takaaki & Pedrós, Xavier & Pfutze, Tobias & Rodríguez-Castelán, Carlos & Winkler, Hernán, 2024. "The welfare effects of mobile broadband internet: Evidence from Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    12. repec:pcz:journl:v:6:y:2012:i:1:p:151-161 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Anderson Jock R. & Birner Regina & Nagarajan Latha & Naseem Anwar & Pray Carl E., 2021. "Private Agricultural R&D: Do the Poor Benefit?," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 3-14, May.
    14. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can mobile phones improve gender equality and nutrition? Panel data evidence from farm households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 95-103.
    15. Gary Bentrup & Michael G. Dosskey, 2022. "Tree Advisor: A Novel Woody Plant Selection Tool to Support Multifunctional Objectives," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, March.
    16. Ezinne M. Emeana & Liz Trenchard & Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz, 2020. "The Revolution of Mobile Phone-Enabled Services for Agricultural Development (m-Agri Services) in Africa: The Challenges for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, January.
    17. Kondylis, Florence & Mueller, Valerie, 2012. "Seeing is Believing? Evidence from a Demonstration Plot Experiment in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Wantchekon, Leonard & Riaz, Zara, 2019. "Mobile technology and food access," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 344-356.
    19. Bjorn Van Campenhout & David J. Spielman & Els Lecoutere, 2021. "Information and Communication Technologies to Provide Agricultural Advice to Smallholder Farmers: Experimental Evidence from Uganda," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(1), pages 317-337, January.
    20. G.T. Abate & Tanguy Bernard & Simrin Makhija & David J. Spielman, 2019. "Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia," Working Papers hal-02879823, HAL.
    21. Liang Chi & Mengshuai Zhu & Chen Shen & Jing Zhang & Liwei Xing & Xiangyang Zhou, 2023. "Does the Winner Take All in E-Commerce of Agricultural Products under the Background of Platform Monopoly?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:jikmxx:v:18:y:2019:i:03:n:s0219649219500370. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/jikm/jikm.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.