International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development

author(s)
Rahul Gajbhiye, Itigi Prabhakar, Shafi Afroz and Krishna DK

abstract
Information can be defined as a collection of facts organized in such a way that they have additional value beyond the value of the facts themselves. Information seeking behaviour is the way people search for and utilize information. There is increasing work in the information searching field that is relating behaviours to underlying needs. In this study an attempt was made to analyze the information seeking behavior of farmers in Adilabad and Karim Nagar districts of Telangana and West Godavari and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh states respectively. In total, 120 farmers were randomly selected as respondents for assessing their information need on crop cultivation and - which was measured with modified Standardized Information Need Index (SINI) and Information Use Index (IUI) using ex-post facto research design. The study revealed that the information on crop protection was perceived as most important by majority of farmers (index value=77.2) followed by crop production and soil health management information. It was found that the input dealers were the main source of information with respect to different agriculture practices. It implied that input dealers played a significant role in meeting the information needs of various stakeholders by providing relevant and timely information on crop cultivation. Hence, input dealers are playing significant role in bridging the information gap which exists between lab and land.