Abstract:
This study was conducted to investigate the agricultural information need and the most popular sources of
information of the farmers in Mahailluppallama block of the Mahaweli system-H in Anuradhapura District which
comes under major irrigation scheme and an important agricultural production area in the dry zone. Investigation
was made by interviewing randomly selected fifty three (n=53) farmers using a semi structured interview schedule.
Most demanded information by the farmers was on pests and diseases, seeds and planting materials, and marketing in
the order of importance. Majority of farmers rely on the Agrarian Service Centre, farmer organization, fellow farmers
and agriculture input shops in the order of priority to receive information. Results revealed that although mass media
such as, radio and television play a potential role in reaching a wider audience instantly, farmers do not use such
information sources significantly. Nevertheless, 42 (79% ) farmers read newspapers and pay special attention to
agricultural information whiles the rest 11 (21% ) do not read newspapers as a habit. Only 9% of the farmers had
computers at home, however, no one was using computers to get agricultural information and had connectivity to
internet providing an example for digital divide in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, 75% of the farmers had telephone
facilities. However, only 17 respondents (32% ) were aware about the Toll-Free agriculture advisory service (1920) of
the Department of Agriculture and only 5 (9% ) respondents had used the service, highlighting the need for awareness
programmes. Agricultural programme formats in radio and television should be designed creatively to capture the
interest of a wider audience in rural farming communities.
