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Presentation outline
Information management in agriculture:a study of information flow
between extension services and farmers

Sohaimi Zakaria Associate Professor
Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Visiting Foreign Research Fellow, Graduate School of Library, Informationand Media Studies, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Haruki Nagata Professor
Graduate School of Library, Information and Media Studies, University ofTsukuba, Japan

Emerging challenges foragriculture• Expanding world population• Higher income levels among many former developingcountries• Increased global demand for more and better quality food• Increased pressure on the planet's natural resources andleading to environmental degradation• Emphasizing external inputs as the means to increase foodproduction such as:– pesticides– inorganic fertilizer– animal feeds– machinery– fossil fuelSustainability in agriculture• Many definitions of sustainable agriculture• E.g., as the use of farming systems andpractices which maintain or enhance:– the economic viability of agricultural
production– the natural (or internal) resource base– other ecosystems which are influenced byagricultural activities (SCA, 1991)• Sustainability in agriculture• Changing demands & decision-makings• The role of extension• Objectives• Propositions• Questionnaire constructs• Conclusion

Towards sustainableagriculture• Making better use of internal resources such as:– biological, cultural, and mechanical methods forcontrolling pests, weeds, and diseases– livestock manures, composts– local energy resources• Regenerating internal resources more effectively, or by
combinations of both
• Emerging evidence - regenerative and resourceconserving technologies and practices can bring both
environmental and economic benefits for farmers,
communities, and nations (Röling & Pretty, 1998)

Sustainability in agriculture• One that produces abundant food without
depleting the earth‟s resources or polluting its
environment• Follows the principles of nature to develop
systems for raising crops and livestock that are,like nature, self-sustaining• Also the agriculture of social values, one whose
success is indistinguishable from vibrant ruralcommunities, rich lives for families on the farms,
and wholesome food for everyone (Earles,2005)

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Objectives of sustainable
farming

Sustainability in agricultureEconomic profit• „Farming today for tomorrow‟ (Kondinin, 1997)• savings/net worth consistently going up• debt consistently going down
• farm enterprises consistently profitable from year to year
• purchase of off-farm feed and fertilizer decreasing• reliance on government payments decreasing
Social benefits to the farm family and the community• the farm supports other businesses and families in the community• dollars circulate within the local economy• number of rural families going up or holding steady• young people take over their parents' farms and continue farming• college graduates return to the community after graduation (Sullivan, 2003)

Contemporary trends inJapanese agriculture• Not affected by recent food supply
shortages (especially rice – surplus)• Agricultural community concerned for foodsafety and quality (e.g. the case ofimported rice)• Moving towards positive indicator of
agricultural sustainability• Need data to support

The role of extension• Agricultural extension has a very crucial role to play
• The tasks and responsibilities need to be broad-based andholistic in contents and scope• Beyond transferring and disseminating agricultural
technology transfer• Beyond the normal Scientist-Extension-Farmer model• More proactive and participatory role and serve as
knowledge/information brokers• „... researchers play the glory role of creating breakthroughs... [which] are transferred to extension for delivery to users ...
and extension has to sell it‟ (Roling, 1990)• Provide services to farmers and disseminate innovations(Roling, 1990)

Changing trends• Shifting work & life styles• Decision-makings• Increased needs for information• It has been addressed that farmers need
integrated information• This in turn implies an increased need for
information among the providers ofinformation in order to support the farmers

Questions• How do extension professionals cope with these newdemands, as information intermediaries?
• What information do farmers want? What are theareas/subject matters do they most require?
• To what extent are extension professionals able togather relevant information to satisfy those needs?
• How do they communicate with the farmers? What
influence has ICT on the way they communicate withfarmers?
• Where do they get their information from?
• What do they think of the Agricultural Information
System provided by the Prefectural Agricultural Center?

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Past studies• Studies on farmers‟ information needs• Agricultural scientists‟ information needs• Studies focused on situations in developingcountries• Documents on information handling andmanagement within the extension services has
been very scarce• From their own view point as service providers• It would be interesting to discover thephenomenon in a developed country like Japan

Objectives• This study is undertaken to understandhow is information managed within theagricultural extension services, with afocus on the pattern of information flow

Information quality• “The nature of agricultural information poses problems
for its efficient management. It is often highly specificand fragmented, though what is usually needed by
farmers is multidisciplinary [and integrated] packages of
information, adapted to meet the needs of particularusers in their farming systems, evaluated and combinedfrom many different sources” (Jones et al., 1987)• Indicators:

Proposition 1• The comprehensiveness of information
relates positively to the extension
professionals‟ perception of the quality ofinformation (multi-disciplinary, integrated,comprehensive, depth) that they acquire– Comprehensiveness (breath of scope and content)– Integrated (source, form, location)– Multi-disciplinary– DepthAgricultural information
system• „one-stop‟ center for agriculturalinformation• Using ICT as a tool
• As those who grew up using electronic
technology begin to dominate the ranks ofextension professionals, bound volumesof printed material are likely to be less indemand (Shaklee et al., 2004)

Proposition 2•

Their perception of the importance of thePrefectural agricultural information
system (available atwww.pref.ibaraki.jp/nourin/noucenter)reflects their positive perception of thecomprehensiveness of the contents ofthe system

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Sources of information• Increased productivity and other agricultural
successes could “suggest that farm decisionmakers have either been using more and better
information, or becoming more knowledgeable[and] there has been pressure to consult andconsider sources of information more, and an
exposure to a greater flow of information”(Jones et al., 1987)• Data and information are increasingly becoming
available online (Kallioranta et al., 2006)

Channels of communication• Multiple channels of communication• Extension must seek the most effectivemeans of reaching farmers based on theirpreferences for receiving information(Cartmell II et al., 2006)• Personal contacts remain useful in thewake of participatory program offerings

Proposition 3•

There is a significant relationshipbetween extension professionals‟
preference to use online information
sources (e.g. the Internet) and theirperceived quality of online information
Quality is perceived through:•––contents: currency, relevency
ease of handling: speed of delivery,
convenience for keeping and sharing withothers

Proposition 4• Their preference to acquire information
through personal sources relates
positively to the extension professionals‟
preference to communicate with farmers
through personal contacts

Population & samples

Instruments• All of the 232 extension professionals inIbaraki Prefecture, with the cooperation of
the Ibaraki Agricultural Institutes• Questionnaire• 18 questions• Distribution through the Prefectural
Agriculture Center• Stamped self-addressed envelopes

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Summary of constructs• Number of farmers under patronage– How many farmers are assigned to you asclients within your scope of job?

Summary of constructs• Personal contacts (frequency) withfarmers– 3 items with 4-point scale• 1-at least once a week
• 2-at least once a fortnight• 3- at least once a month• 4-at least once in 6 months– How many times do you normally visit them inperson?

Summary of constructs• Personal contacts (location) with farmers– 3 items with 4-point scale• 1-my office• 2-their house• 3-their farm• 4-other– Where do you normally meet with them?

Summary of constructs• Areas/disciplines– 45 items with 5-point Likert scale• 1-most frequently asked• 2-frequently asked• 3-sometimes• 4-rarely• 5-never– Please indicate the areas in which they would
normally seek advice from you

Summary of constructs• Sources of information– 38 items with 5-point Likert scale• 1-extremely important• 2-very important• 3-important• 4-somewhat important• 5-not important– Please indicate the importance of thefollowing sources of information in providing
you with information needed to perform yourprofessional tasks

Summary of constructs• Communication channels– 13 items with 5-point scale• 1-most frequently used
• 2-frequently used
• 3-sometimes• 4-rarely• 5-never– Please indicate how you would normallyinteract and communicate with the farmers

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Summary of constructs• Comprehensiveness of information– 24 items with 4-point Likert scale• 1-strongly agree• 2-agree• 3-disagree• 4-strongly disagree– In the course of providing advice andinformation to farmers, please indicate towhat extent you agree or disagree with thefollowing statements

Summary of constructs• Perceived role of information in carryingout their professional tasks &responsibilities (open-ended)

Summary of constructs• Demographics– Age– Gender– Educational & professional attainment– Career goals– Membership of association

Summary of constructs• Library visits– 3 items with 4-point frequency scale• 1-at least once each week
• 2-at least once each month• 3-at least once a fortnight• 4-never– How frequently do you visit your Institute‟s main library inperson?
– How frequently do you visit other agricultural special libraries inperson?

Summary of constructs• Challenges faced by extension
professionals (open-ended)

Significance• Could assist in the identification &development of:– extension training needs (especially on
information handling & management)– availability of information resources on
different subject matters– agricultural information systems (contentdevelopment & coverage)

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Thank you very much7