A Study on Information Needs of the Farming Community in Western Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

This study wa~ t;(md.i.i<;;tcd in West;,;~·n Uttar Pradesh. T!l.;: Westr:.m Ut~ar Pradesh comprises offour.rnandal out ofvvhich onemond~! -~tas se:ccted randmp.iy. i.c~ Saharanpur mandai. The data was collected from 1 ~0 farming community with the .help of i~itcrv!e·.v· schedul~. The major~ty· of lhc r..espondent.:; we::; middle age group, having medium level of socioeconomic status. 78.89% resp(n;dents w~r~ from oti1~r backward caste, having large size of family (70.56 %).80.56% fami.ly liv~1g jointly, ~ 7.78% respondents wer~ small farmers group, 31.67 per cent respondents ware sccon.d aty sclJool passed. 98.89% fa. ;ming community .h· ad information needs of agriculture. Maximum nulllber of respondents (98.89%) had T.V. set3, 93.33 per cent of respondents had radio sets. The T.V. was found to be maximum utilized mass-media (99.44%), second radio (95.55%), Newspaper (91.11 %) and Magazines (47.48%). Maximum number of respondents (99.44%) were using their own T.V. sets, radio users 97.67 per cent used their own radio sets, in case of newspaper readers 97.56 per cent of the respondents used newspapers of their own, in case of magazine readers 93.02 per cent of the respondents used magazine of their own. Maximum numbers of respondents ·were regular T.V. viewers (86.11 %), 81.11% of radio listeners, in case of newspaper 73.33% of respondents were reading newspaper regularly, where as the regular megazine readers \vere quite low (2:5%). 97.76% tcspondents used T.V. for news I inf01mation and entertainrn~nt 94.57 in case of n:dio, Majcrity of (97.78%) T.V. viewers were watching T.V. at evening (4-8 p.m.), while r~dio was listened mostly at night (8!.40%). Maximum number of respondents (97.56%) read newspap•:!r in the moruing hours. T.V. viewers devoted time more than two hours per day on T.V. viewhi.g, newspaper readers devoted time between 1 to 2 hours per day, radio listeners devoted time less t!l.an one hour per day on listening radio and magazine readers devoted time less than one hour per week en reading magazines. The television was the most utilized as well as credible mass media source of inf01mation .for farming community. Availability of media positively and significantly correlated with their education status, caste category, socio-economic status, income, land holding and size of family at one per cent level of significance. Extent of media was positively and significantly correlated with socio-economic status, income and land at one per cent level of significance. Information need was positively and si~ificantly related with all the independent variables except average age of the family.