INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION TO ARTISANAL FISHERMEN IN SELECTED COMMUNITIES IN THREE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF BENUE STATE.

ABSTRACT

This  work  investigated   information   needs  and  information  dissemination   to   artisanal fishermen in selected communities in three local Government areas of Benue State. Six (6) research  questions  guided  the  study.  The  work  sought  to  find  out   the  demographic characteristic   of  artisanal  fishermen,  their  information  needs,   methods  of  information dissemination, the roles of public libraries in extension services, challenges associated with agricultural information dissemination and  strategies for enhancing agricultural information dissemination to artisanal fishermen in Benue state. Descriptive survey design was used and the  sample  size  of 198  fishermen  out  of the  total  population  of 391  was  selected.  The instruments of the study were  questionnaires which have (94) ninety-four items, structured interview and focus group discussion used based on the questionnaire.These instruments were used to embraced  categories of artisanal  fishermen.  Descriptive  statistics  method  such as frequencies,   simple  percentages  and  mean  (x)  were  used  to  analyze  the  data.  These information were presented in tables, bar and pie charts for clarification. The study reveals that both sex engaged in the artisanal industry in the state, however, males were the dominant group. Also, a little proportion of artisanal fishermen (34%) had western education that cut across all levels.The fishing industry is dominated by young energetic adults who are in the middle ages. The major methods of information to artisanal fishermen include traditional and modern sources like traditional fishing festivals, community fishing competitions, radio and cell phone. Results also show that, the  information needs of fishermen in Benue state are mostly  occupationally  directed,  such  as  effects  of  obnoxious  fishing  practices,  conflict resolution, fish processing, storage and preservation. Public libraries have not done much in supporting extension workers in  disseminating information to artisanal fishermen. However, they  provide  agricultural  journals,  books,  fisheries  magazines  and  pamphlets  that  are expected  to aid extension  services to artisanal fishermen.The  challenges  of disseminating information to artisanal fishermen were acute shortage of librarians/extension  workers  and lack of linkage between public libraries and extension workers. It was  recommended  that more librarians and extension workers be recruited and there should  be a linkage between librarians  and  extension  workers.Conclusively,   the  information  needs  and  information dissemination of artisanal fishermen in the study area are not well met and this resulted to low productivity. Therefore, the dissemination of adequate, relevant and current information to artisanal fishermen will increase fish production rate in the state.

CHAPTER ONE

Background to the Study

INTRODUCTION

Information  is the  bedrock  of every occupation  and  derives  its  greatest  worth  in sharing for smooth and effective operation and success of the occupation. In the Agricultural sector,  every  farmer  needs  information  to  catch  up  with  the  cultural  and  technological

advancement  in  the  21st   century.  Oladele  (2006)  advanced  that  information  is  vital  for

increasing  production.  It  also  serves  as  impetus  for  sharing  experiences,  best  practices, sources of financial aids and new markets. In addition, Aina, Kaniki and  Ojiambo (1995) advocate that, information has a vital role to play in improving and  sustaining agricultural production of any nation.  Agricultural as the predominant occupation of rural communities seems to be witnessing its worst performance in recent times, due to lack of information. In confirmative with the above, Gholamreza, Babu and Asenso (2010) advance that despite the wide range of reforms initiative in Agricultural sector in India in the last decades, access to quality of information provided to marginalized and poor farmers is uneven. With access to information a farmer may perhaps, be lifted from the state of ignorance, illiteracy and poverty to a state of  enlightenment,  prosperity,  literacy and high productivity.  Therefore,  relevant information acquired and utilized by artisanal fishermen may enable them to increase their perception,  expand their horizons, enhance competence,  enlarge their sense of  perspective and above all, increase their production rate.

Artisanal fishery as one of the subsector of agriculture is carried out in coastal states and inland waters of Nigeria. In essence, Nigeria’s inland water bodies are primarily utilized for  fishing  by artisanal  fishermen  who  supply  fish  for  domestic  consumption.  They are primarily  illiterate  people,   young  and  old  between  the   ages   of  10-60years   in  rural

communities  with weight of fishing experiences  and have little or no basic education.  In addition, World Fish (2000) maintains that, artisanal fishermen are characterized by labour intensive, low productivity, low income, low technology and lack of skillful techniques. They also make use of fishing nets of various sizes, hooks and lines,  dugout canoes, boats and above all have access to little information which in most cases is not so relevant.

Artisanal fishermen seems to be one of the most disadvantaged and isolated groups in Nigeria due to the nature of the fishing communities terrains where there are no good roads, and access to basic amenities such as electricity, pipe borne water, hospitals and schools is a bit  difficult.  Occupationally,  artisanal  fishermen  lack  funds  that  will  help  them  afford mechanized  and  non-mechanized  fishing  crafts,  spare  parts and  fishing  gears.  More  so, Annune (1993)  advanced  that lack fishermen well  organized  and viable cooperatives  that could  attract  government  attention  for better  assistance  and  a reliable  fish transportation system, such as refrigerated trucks, for movement of their products to distribution centers for marketing. They also lack education and training. Abdel-malek (1982)   quoted in Annune (2000) asserts that  training on how to use improved  fishing equipment, smoke drying and fumigation of fish stores to avoid infestation, fish markets with adequate storage facilities and sanitary  conditions  are essential  to  forestall  post  harvest  losses.  Above  all,  low level of information  accessible  to  artisanal  fishermen  may  hinder  their  production  rate,   since information is the key for effective functioning of the artisanal fishery sector.

In artisanal fishery sector both traditional, printed and non- printed materials may be used to access and disseminate information. Traditionally, artisanal fishermen get information by word of mouth, ceremonies, town criers, village meetings, church meetings. For instance, Otolo (2009) reveals that, people in the Isoko riverine area of Delta state rely heavily on town criers,   community   meetings,   friends,   relations,   church   meetings,   village   meetings,

conventions and personal experience.  In addition, society has diverse modern methods  of passing  information  to  artisanal  fishermen,  such  as  pamphlets,  journals,  books,  radio, television, cell phone, leaflets, bulletin, and pamphlets to facilitate information dissemination. Beare  and  Rushoke  (2001)  advanced  other  means  of  disseminating  information  such  as monthly bulletin, community radio broadcasting and mobile cell phone. In addition, Njoku (2003) emphasized the use of radio, television, library and mobile phones within their rural communities.

With the aforementioned  methods,  information  dissemination  and accessibility  has reduced the world to a global village. However, it seems the artisanal fishery sector in general and Benue state in particular is still confronted with challenges. This may be due to the fact that the artisanal fishermen are predominantly non-literate, more accustomed to oral tradition and can better relate to information exchange in the way they understand. Also, it is observed that the little information accessible by artisanal fishermen is disseminated through foreign language in radio, which has little or no impact on their lives. To be precise, the information disseminated to artisanal fishing communities is in printed or non printed media in English language. This may hinder effective utilization by the artisanal fishermen where most of them cannot read nor understand English.

In spite of this, there seem to be different ways of passing information to  artisanal fishermen, such as personal contact, training and visitation, group discussion, packaging and repackaging   method.   In  agreement   with  the   above,   Shibanda   (1999)   advances   that interpersonal methods are the popular sources of information in fish marketing. In addition, Banjo (2008) emphasizes the use of oral medium such as discussion forum, listening, viewing sessions and drama. Furthermore,  Ibeanu (2008)  advocated  the use of workshop, periodic report, newsletter, monographs, websites and data bases to disseminate information to rural

communities. Apart from the above, information agents may reach out to artisanal fishermen through organization of workshops in local dialect, use of radio to run fisheries programmes in their local language, holding discussion classes, creating awareness of new innovations and visitation to fishing communities to have personal contact with them through an interpreter.

Despite the various ways of passing information to artisanal fishermen, there seems to be low production rate in fishing industry generally and Benue state in particular, which may likely be as a result of inadequate provision of information. Ugboma (2010) emphasizes that access to information  is very essential  for increased  productivity  by  fishermen.  Newman (1979)  quoted   in  Omekwu   (2001)  emphasizes  that  poor   information  accessibility  is responsible for reduction of agricultural knowledge,  productivity and a general problem of poor agricultural performances in Africa, Asia, and South America. Yet, Aluko (1997) opines that  the  status  and  power  of  a nation  by  the  21st   century will  be  partly determined  by information  at  its  disposal  and   recognition  of  the  importance  of  information  to  the

development of the societies. The ability to acquire and use information is fundamental  to artisanal fishermen in boosting fish production and maintaining an adequate supply to the nation. Therefore,  artisanal  fishermen  need constant  information  to address  their  areas of need and as well improve on fish production.

Information need in this context is the desire to acquire new knowledge or facts about something which is considered as essential and worth having. Gholamreza and Nasir (2005) quoted  in  Dooga  (2010)  stated  that,  information  need  is  purposive  in  nature  and  is  a consequence  of behaviour  to  satisfy  some  goals.  In the  same  vein,  Wikipedia,  the  free encyclopedia (2010) opines that information need is an individual or group’s desire to locate and  obtain  information  to  satisfy  a  conscious  or  unconscious  need.  It  maintains  that information and needs are inseparable; in that need and interests call forth information.

Therefore,  information  needs  of  artisanal  fishermen  revolve  around  their  socio economic activities such as  how to have access to advanced fishing tools, danger of harmful fishing practices, marketing strategies, the issue of middlemen and where and how to obtain loan.  Specifically, Fagade (1992) advances that fishermen need information on modern ways of fishing, the danger of using small mesh nets of various sizes which catch undersized fish, modern ways of processing and preservation, the effects of using poison, explosives and plant extracts  to  catch  fish  and  other  aquatic   organisms  and  how  to  prevent  middlemen exploitation.  These  needs  may  be  best  solved  using  different  methods  in  disseminating timely, accurate and relevant  information  to artisanal fisheries sector. In essence,  sources such as public libraries, extension services, oral communication, town criers, and mass media like radio and television programs, posters, newspapers and other relevant printed materials may be  primary  channels  of information  dissemination  to  artisanal  fishermen.  All these methods may be realistic through the use of information agents.

Information agents are channels developed to ensure that, information is effectively disseminated to rural communities to enable them improve on their agricultural production. Therefore in this study, information agents such as public library and extension workers are considered. Public library and extension workers are primarily responsible for acquiring and organizing printed/non  printed  resources,  and  then extending  this information  to artisanal fishermen.  That is, public libraries are  concerned  with the provision of information  to all members of the public, regardless of their status, while extension workers are to disseminate appropriate information to  farmers, in this case, artisanal fishermen. However, Aina (2010) asserts that the use of librarians in the dissemination of information to farmers has always been mooted. He  emphasizes that this is not surprising given the fact that the function of extension workers is akin to that of a public librarian. Since the role of extension workers is similar  to  that  of public  libraries  there  should  be collaboration  between  them  to  ensure

effective  information  dissemination   to  farmers  in  general  and  artisanal  fishermen   in particular.

Similarly,  (Oladele,  2006)  agree that the problem  of farmers is lack of access  to agricultural information and that even with the advent of information technologies,  which have succeeded in eliminating bottlenecks in information dissemination; constraints to access to information are still a real experience. Other challenges that are likely to be associated with information dissemination to artisanal fishermen are lack of libraries, illiteracy, shortage of extension workers, and language barrier. These may  greatly inhibit fish production rate in Nigeria and Benue state in particular.

Benue state was created on the 3rd  of February 1976 out of the old  Benue-Plateau state. The state has 23 local government  areas and out of these, Guma,  Katsina Ala and Makurdi were selected with their major fishing communities  comprising of Ugee-Mbabai, Abinsi,  Mngban-Ngun,  Ber-Awuna,  Akata,  Akututu,  Northbank,  Fiidi,  and  Wadata.  The major ethnic groups in Benue State are: the Tiv, Idoma, and Igede. These are predominantly

peasant farmers who also engage in fishing activities. The bulk of the people live in rural communities where access to basic amenities is difficult. In spite of these, the state is blessed with a vast expanse of inland water resources in terms of rivers with numerous tributaries, lakes, natural ponds, swampy areas and flood plains that call for fishing. Fishing is mostly year round and is carried out by artisanal fishermen who walk along the river banks of these tributaries  using their local tools to catch fish (Agishi  and Annune,  1995). Like artisanal fishermen from other parts of Nigeria, they may lack relevant information to improve on their production for effective fish supply to the State.

Statement of the Problem

Artisanal fisheries play a crucial role to national economy in terms of provision  of employment, with many health benefits, food, and cheap protein for the local populace and income for rural dwellers. In support of the above, Central Bank on  Nigeria (CBN, 1994) maintains that artisanal fisheries play a leading role in fish production in Nigeria, contributing an average of 84.2% of the total domestic output. Based on this, it is clear that artisanal fish production  is  the  main  stay  of  Nigerian  domestic  fishing  industry.  In  spite  of  their importance, it is observed by Akande (1996) that the production rate of artisanal fishermen in recent times has been generally  poor. In line with the researcher’s  mere observation,  the production  rate  of  artisanal  fishermen  in the  study area  is  low,  traditionally  bound  and stagnated that calls for  importation of fish as supplement for local production as found in various markets in Benue state.

Therefore,  failure  to  disseminate  the  needed  information  may  hinder  increase   in production rate, which may eventually endanger the nation as well as Benue state economy as there will be perpetual dependence on fish importation  and loss of gross  domestic profit. There will be complete collapse of local fishing economy, leaving the fishing communities to wallow in abject poverty. This may lead to different crimes as well as an influx of people from rural to urban areas in search of white collar jobs. It is against this background that the researcher set out to find out the information needs and information dissemination to artisanal fishermen in selected communities in three local government areas of Benue state.

Purpose of the Study

The general objective of the study is to ascertain information needs and information dissemination to artisanal fishermen in three local government areas of Benue state. Specific objectives are to:

1. Identify demographic characteristics of artisanal fishermen in Benue state.

2. Identify the information needs of artisanal fishermen in the Benue state.

3. Find out methods  through which information  is disseminated  to artisanal  fishermen  in

Benue state.

4. Determine public library roles in extension services to artisanal fishermen in Benue state.

5. Ascertain challenges associated with agricultural information dissemination to artisanal fishermen in Benue state.

6. Suggest strategies for enhancing agricultural information dissemination to artisanal fishermen in Benue state.

Research Question

The study was guided by the following research questions:

1.       What are the demographic characteristics of artisanal fishermen in Benue state?

2.       What are the information needs of artisanal fishermen in Benue state?

3.       What  are the methods  through  which Agricultural  information  is disseminated  to artisanal fishermen in Benue state?

4.       What are the roles of public libraries in extension services to artisanal fishermen in

Benue state?

5.        What challenges do you face in disseminating agricultural information to artisanal in

Benue state?

6.         What   strategies   should   be   adopted   for   enhancing   agricultural   information dissemination to artisanal fishermen in Benue state?

Significance of the Study

This study is expected  to be of importance  to government,  national fishery  policy makers, general public, information agents and artisanal fishermen, researchers.

The study will be of utmost importance to Government as it reveals literacy level of artisanal fishermen so that, nomadic teachers will be organized as well as established adult education  centers in these fishing communities.  This will help  in improving  on  artisanal fishermen’s  educational background  and achieving one of the goals of  national policy on education which emphasizes free education for all.  Also, the study will help Government to identify the information needs of artisanal fishermen so as to liaise with information agents for effective  information dissemination.  It will also be  of  help to government  in decision making. The study will be of utmost importance  to  the Government as it exposes various methods through which information is disseminated to the artisanal fishermen and the need to improve on them, to ensure higher productivity. It will also review to government the role of public library in extension  services to artisanal fishermen and the need to strengthen this relationship.

It will also be of importance  to the National  fisheries policy for effective  policy formulation and upliftment of fishermen`s knowledge for higher productivity.  Also, it will reveal to the general public, the activities that are carried out by information agents in the fishing communities. In fact, it will serve as report of activities of information agents in the study area which will help the information agents to see their lapses; and the need to be in collaboration with each other for effective information dissemination. The study will expose to  the  general  public,  challenges  that  are  associated  with  dissemination  of  Agricultural information to artisanal fishermen for possible solutions. The suggestions made, if adopted

will help in reducing most of the constraints faced by artisanal fishermen and increase fish production in the country.

It is of utmost importance to information agents as it exposes the information needs of artisanal fishermen, thereby, helping them to acquire information materials based on their needs.  The  information  needs  of  artisanal  fishermen  will  also  be  exposed  to  extension workers which may help in the dissemination of relevant and current information to artisanal fishermen. The study is also expected to be of, immense importance to information agents as it identifies various methods of information available to artisanal fishermen in order to adopt the most effective ones for easy information dissemination.

This study is also expected to enlighten fishermen about the availability of different methods of accessing information, so as to improve, utilize and enhance fish production in Benue State. The study is also expected to be of importance to researchers as it will serve as a stepping stone for others to carry out more investigation on the artisanal fishery sector. It will also add to literature in the field of information dissemination that will be of importance to researchers.

Scope of the Study This study is restricted to the artisanal fishermen in rural communities with regards to three  local  government  areas,  comprising  of  major  fishing  communities  in  Katsina-Ala, Makurdi and Guma in Benue State. It place emphasis on; demographic  characteristics  of artisanal  fishermen,  areas of their information  needs, methods  through which agricultural information  is  disseminated,  roles  of  public  libraries  in  extension  services  to  artisanal fishermen, challenges associated  with   Agricultural  information dissemination and suggest strategies for enhancing agricultural information dissemination to artisanal fishermen.

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