Eduafo Ignatius, Osei Collins Kwabena, Bakang John-Eudes Andivi, Tham-Agyekum Enoch Kwame
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, and Extension, KNUST-Kumasi, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2024 Jun 19;10(12):e33293. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33293. eCollection 2024 Jun 30.
In this study, we set out to investigate the transforming power of social media for agricultural extension delivery services in Ghana. We employed a quantitative research approach and drew insights from 374 farmers. We used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse the data. Cocoa farmers have some level of awareness of agricultural information on social media (Overall Mean = 1.88). Farmers regard social media platforms as potential sources of agricultural information (Perception Index = 3.38). Majority of farmers own smartphones (53.74 %) and have internet access (53.74 %). About 31.86 % of farmers spend 30 min to 1 h daily time browsing social media for agricultural information. About 57.65 % use social media for accessing agricultural information and implementing farming practices. According to 89.38 % of farmers, social media information helps to improve crop yield and pest management. The main constraint facing farmers in the use of social media is high data costs (Mean = 7.30). We recommend that the government in collaboration with telecommunication companies should explore innovative pricing models to reduce the cost barrier for farmers accessing agricultural content online.
在本研究中，我们着手调查社交媒体对加纳农业推广服务的变革力量。我们采用了定量研究方法，并从374名农民那里获取了见解。我们使用描述性和推断性统计分析数据。可可种植农民对社交媒体上的农业信息有一定程度的了解（总体均值 = 1.88）。农民将社交媒体平台视为农业信息的潜在来源（认知指数 = 3.38）。大多数农民拥有智能手机（53.74%）并能接入互联网（53.74%）。约31.86%的农民每天花费30分钟到1小时浏览社交媒体获取农业信息。约57.65%的农民利用社交媒体获取农业信息并实施耕作实践。据89.38%的农民表示，社交媒体信息有助于提高作物产量和病虫害管理。农民在使用社交媒体时面临的主要制约因素是数据成本高昂（均值 = 7.30）。我们建议政府与电信公司合作，探索创新定价模式，以降低农民在线获取农业内容的成本障碍。
