Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
Fall 10-30-2021
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The present study aims to find out (i) the agricultural information needs of the turmeric farmers in Shangpung village, (ii) how they access the required information, (iii) what tools they use to access the needed information, (iv) the level of satisfaction in terms of meeting their information needs (v) the problems they encountered in their agrarian journey. Due to the large size of Shangpung village, its vast population, and the ongoing pandemic of covid-19, only two localities have been selected for the present study, i.e., Khlieh Mushut and Moolibang. There is a total number of 275 farmers from Khlieh Mushut and 195 from Moolibang. 30% of farmers from both localities were randomly selected to form a sample for the study, i.e., 82 farmers from Khlieh Mushut and 59 farmers from Moolibang. Hence, a total number of 141 turmeric farmers participated in the present study. Both questionnaire and interview were used to collect data from the farmers. The questionnaire was prepared in English, and then it was translated to Pnar, a local language, for the convenience of the respondents. The study shows that the majority of the turmeric farmers need information for seeds/rhizomes of their crop; they access the needed information from home through their mobile phones, most of them are not satisfied in meeting their information needs. The problems encountered by the turmeric farmers are lack of support from the government, inadequate market information, illiteracy, poverty, and inadequate transport facilities.