USE OF UNION INFORMATION AND SERVICE CENTER BY THE FARMERS IN RECEIVING AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to determine the use of Union Information and Service Center by the farmers in receiving agricultural information and to explore its relationships with their selected characteristics. Data were collected through personal interviewing by using interview schedule from a sample of 102 farmers selected by multi-stage random sampling procedure from 43 villages of Satair and Bhognagar unions under Birganj Upazila of Dinajpur district during 15 March to 25 April 2013. The use of Union Information and Service Center was determined initially on three dimensions viz. information receive, application and dissemination and finally the overall use of UISC by the farmers in receiving agricultural information was determined. Overall use of UISC could range from 18 to 52, against the possible score of 0 to 90. The highest proportion (47.06 percent) of the farmers had medium use of Union Information and Service Center compared to 29.41 percent had high use and 23.53 percent had low use. The findings revealed that more than three-fourths (76.47 percent) of the farmers had medium to high use of Union Information and Service Center in receiving agricultural information. Therefore, it can be said that the Union Information and Service Centers play a significant role in dissemination of agricultural information among the farmers. Seven characteristics of the farmers’ viz. family education, farm size, family income, cosmopoliteness, agricultural knowledge, innovativeness and socio-economic status showed positive significant relationship with their Use of Union Information and Service Center; while their age and marketing orientation had no relationships.