ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION SOURCES AND COMUNICATION CHANNELS USED BY SOME SELECTED ACTORS IN POULTRY VALUE CHAIN IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The main objective of the study was to analyze the information sources and communication channels used by some selected actors in the poultry value chain in Nasarawa state. Multistage sampling procedure was used to draw 140 actors in the poultry value chain business as study sample. Stage 1 Two (2) Local Government Areas (LGAs) well known for poultry production were purposively selected from each of the three agricultural zones in the state. Stage 2: Thirty percent (30%) of the identified participants in each value chain category were selected using proportional sampling technique to select 140 respondents. The data collection was through the aid of a structured questionnaire. Data were subjected to both descriptive and inferential analyses. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze objectives 1.2, 3, 4 and 6 while multiple linear regression model was used to analyze objective 5. Results showed that the mean age of the respondents was 42 years. Results shows that majority (86.5%) of the poultry farmers had some formal education, 51.6% of the poultry inputs dealers had some formal education, (96.2%) of the poultry products marketers had had some formal education while (88.9%) of the veterinary workers had had some formal. The mean years of experience of the respondents were eight (8) years. The mean annual poultry income of respondents was W, 586,142.50. The results show that majority (62.2%) of poultry farmers got their information from fellow farmers, majority 74.2% of poultry inputs dealers got their information from veterinary officers, and 57.7% poultry products marketers got their information from fellow marketers while majority (66.7%) of veterinary workers got their information from neighbours. Majority (79.7%), (90.3%) sand (96.2%) of the poultry farmers, poultry inputs dealers and poultry product marketers in the study area used face-to-face communication channel most frequently. AH (100.0%) of veterinary officers used telephone calls most frequently. The regression analysis revealed that the coefficient of determination (R2) for poultry farmers was 0.588. The coefficient of determination (R2) value for poultry inputs dealers was 0.513. The coefficient of determination (R2) value for poultry product marketing was 0.461. The results for veterinary officers show that the coefficient of determination (R2) value was 0.341. the determinants of utilization of modern communication channels for poultry farmers were the variables of annual income (sig.=0.000), level of education (sig.=0.002) and number of extension contacts (sig.=0.005). The variables of level of education (sig.=0.003) and poultry enterprise experience (sig.=0.003) were the determinants of adoption of ICTs for business communication by poultry inputs dealers. The variable of annual income (sig.=0.000) was the determinant of level of utilization of modern communication channels by poultry product marketers and veterinary officers. The results on constraints show that poultry farmers (£=2.4), poultry inputs dealers (£=2.4), poultry products marketers (£=2.4) and veterinary officers (£=2.2) all perceived erratic power supply, high cost of ICT facilities and poor network from service providers as serious major constraints. It was concluded that the level of utilisation of modern communication facilities (ICTs) was very low. It was recommended that constant power supply should be provided in all rural and urban communities by the electricity companies to enhance efficient operation of ICT facilities for business communication. xi