CELL PHONE USED BY THE FARMERS FOR RECEIVING AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION FROM SUB ASSISTANT AGRICULTURAL OFFICER (SAAO)

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to determine the extent of use of cell phone by the farmers in receiving agricultural information and to explore the relationships between the selected characteristics of the farmers (age, literacy level, agricultural knowledge, farm size, annual income, organizational participation, cosmo politeness, aspiration, self-confidence and attitude towards technology) and their use of cell Phone. Data was obtained from 76 cell user farmers in 8 selected villages of Silam and Mogla Bazar union under Dakshin Surma upazila of Sylhet district with the help of interview schedule. Appropriate scales were developed in order to measure the concerned variables. Correlation test was used to ascertain the relationships between the concerned dependent and independent variables of the study. More than half (54 percent) of the farmers had medium use of cell phone in receiving agricultural information from the Sub Assistant Agricultural Officer (SAAO) while 14 percent and 32 percent of them had low and high use of cell phone, respectively. Literacy level, annual income, cosmo politeness, agricultural knowledge, aspiration, self-confidence and attitude towards technology of the farmers had significant positive relationship with their use of cell phone. However, age of the respondents had negative significant relationship while farm size and organizational participation of the farmers had no relationship with their use of cell phone. The problems which were commonly faces by the farmers includes high call rate, lack of money, high call rate for calling other operators, lack of adequate cell credit etc.