PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF THE USAGE OF E-AGRICULTURE INFORMATION SOURCES BY THE CEREAL CROP FARMERS IN THEIR CEREAL CROP FARMING IN BORNO AND KEBBI STATE, NIGERIA

ABSRACT

The study examined the perceived effects of the usage of e-agriculture information sources by the cereal crop farmers in Borno and Kebbi state, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to; investigate the sources of information of e- agriculture and their extent of usage, and to evaluate the perceived effects of e-agriculture usage by the cereal crop farmers in the study area. Three (3) stage sampling procedure were used for the sampling. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Simple descriptive statistics along with Likert scale of measurement were used to summarize the data collected. The result of the simple descriptive statistics revealed that, about 90% of the cereal crop farmers were using e-agriculture information sources. The likert scale result on extent of usage revealed that, mobile phone which is ranked 1^stin extent of usage with the mean score of 2.70 is highly in used by the cereal crop famers, along with radio which is ranked 2^nd in extent of usage with the mean score of 2.64. The result on perceived effects disclosed that, mobile phone is ranked 1^st as the most significant e-agriculture tool used by the cereal crop farmers. Conclusively, the most used e-agriculture information sources were obviously mobile phone, radio and other farmers (friends). Therefore, cereal crop farmers are encouraged to explore the use of other sources of e-agriculture information, as this will help them gain new knowledge that may help enhance their productivity.

Keyword: Perceived Effects, Usage, E-agriculture Information Sources, Cereal Crop, Farmers, Borno, Kebbi, Nigeria