Influence of Information Sources on Farmers’ Knowledge of Poultry Drugs in Delta State, Nigeria: Implications for Rural Community Development

The study determined the institutional characteristics of poultry farmers, analyzed their access to information sources, and awareness and knowledge of poultry drugs. It determined the relationships between variables with a view to making deductions. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 100 poultry farmers with the use of structured interview schedule and questionnaire. Frequency counts, percentages, mean and Chi-square were used to analyze data. The findings showed that majority (67%) of the respondents had never led a group, while 62% had contact with extension agents and were members of poultry drug associations. It was observed that 60% of the farmers were aware of and had access to avian charge, 48.8% had access to happy hen treat drug. Others are: petamine (45.0%) and tricero (32.5%). Among the various information sources identified, only neighbour (mean = 2.58) recorded high level of accessibility among the farmers and the implication of this is that rate of development of poultry enterprise in such a community will be slow. At 0.01 significant level, Chi-square results showed campaign (r = 0.762), exhibition (r = 0.528), and workshop/seminar (r = 2.607) were the only information sources that significantly correlated with the knowledge of poultry drugs. Based on the study findings, farmers should be exposed to other information sources that will facilitate community development.