ISSN 2360-798X
Abstract: This study focused primarily on the effective use of digital communication tools to access agricultural information among commercial poultry farmers in Abia State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the poultry farmers and to determine the level of farmers’ use of digital communication tools in poultry production. A primary source was used for data collection: a structured questionnaire. Purposive and simple random sampling procedures were employed for data collection. Data collected were analysed using simple and inferential statistics like frequency distribution and means. The study used ANOVA for the hypothesis test. Findings from the study indicated that a mean age of 42, consisting of about 53% of males and 47% of females, 24% were single, while 8% were either widowed or widowers. The respondents' educational level reveals that they were highly literate, with 95% having some form of educational attainment and an average of 7 years of farming experience. On the extent of use of digital communication tools in assessing information, the results show a grand mean of 1.79, which is below the cut-off mean of 2.5. On level of use of digital communication in Abia states, the result indicated differences in level of use across the state, but a post-hoc test of poultry farmers in Aba north and Osisioma performed better than counterparts in Aba south in the level of use of DICTs.
Keywords: Utilisation, poultry, effectiveness, digital, communication