Dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree Master of Library and Information Science of the University of Zululand, 2002. / Women constitute 51,6 % of the population of South Africa. It is widely known that in many households, especially blacks, men leave homes for urban areas in search for jobs, leaving women behind to maintain the entire household on their own. Despite significant role played by the women, they are faced with many problems as those experienced by women in other developing countries such as illiteracy, poverty, low social status and multiple roles of child care, farming and housework. The plight of women in rural parts of South Africa, hinder their access and exploitation of media, that can enable them to participate responsibly in nation building. The study explores the media needs of the rural women and how they are fulfilled in the areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Through a normative survey method and critical incident technique, 109 women were interviewed and questionnaires administered to 18 community leaders as well as observation for primary data. Evidently, there is need for suitable media where information on agriculture, health, education, business, legal, and career opportunities as well as self-help-related activities can be accessed. Such media should be available closer to home environment, in visual and sound formats, orally delivered by people closer to the community such as friends, relatives and neighbours as well as community leaders. Methods of information transmission should be overwhelmingly oral that includes greater use of radio transmission. Largely, the findings are consistent with similar studies conducted elsewhere in the developing countries. Conference presentation and publication in a peer-referred journal is planned in 2002. / University of Zululand

Access and use of information facilitate the improvement of agriculture in rural areas. It is therefore important to ensure that adequate and appropriate information flows to the rural areas, and that farmers are able to utilise it. This study investigated the access and use of poultry management information in three rural districts of Tanzania, namely Iringa Rural, Morogoro Rural and Mvomero. The survey method, supplemented by methodological triangulation, was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 360 poultry farmers in the selected rural communities. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted, in which 160 farmers participated. Twenty-two information providers were interviewed. The SPSS® software was used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings indicated that poultry farmers needed information on poultry disease control, poultry protection, shelter for poultry and poultry production. There was very low identification and prioritisation of farmers’ information needs by the information providers. Farmers accessed information that had a direct impact and was deemed relevant to their farming activities. It was revealed that farmers accessed information mainly from interpersonal sources. Likewise, farmers preferred interpersonal and informal sources to formal sources of information. The extension officers were considered to be the most effective information source, followed by family, friends, and neighbours. Various factors, such as lack of awareness, unavailability of extension officers and poor infrastructure, influenced access and use of poultry management information. It was concluded that most of the information providers were not aware of the farmers’ information needs, and as a result they were not in a position to disseminate relevant information. In addition, farmers were used to an oral culture, which means that they would probably continue to depend on interpersonal sources of information, regardless of the availability of formal channels and modern sources. The study recommended several measures, including the use of multiple sources of information and delivery of information in a variety of formats, in order to accommodate various categories of farmers. The study also suggested some areas for further research. Furthermore, a model for effective dissemination of poultry management information in rural areas was proposed. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Access and use of information facilitate the improvement of agriculture in rural areas. It is therefore important to ensure that adequate and appropriate information flows to the rural areas, and that farmers are able to utilise it. This study investigated the access and use of poultry management information in three rural districts of Tanzania, namely Iringa Rural, Morogoro Rural and Mvomero. The survey method, supplemented by methodological triangulation, was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 360 poultry farmers in the selected rural communities. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted, in which 160 farmers participated. Twenty-two information providers were interviewed. The SPSS® software was used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings indicated that poultry farmers needed information on poultry disease control, poultry protection, shelter for poultry and poultry production. There was very low identification and prioritisation of farmers’ information needs by the information providers. Farmers accessed information that had a direct impact and was deemed relevant to their farming activities. It was revealed that farmers accessed information mainly from interpersonal sources. Likewise, farmers preferred interpersonal and informal sources to formal sources of information. The extension officers were considered to be the most effective information source, followed by family, friends, and neighbours. Various factors, such as lack of awareness, unavailability of extension officers and poor infrastructure, influenced access and use of poultry management information. It was concluded that most of the information providers were not aware of the farmers’ information needs, and as a result they were not in a position to disseminate relevant information. In addition, farmers were used to an oral culture, which means that they would probably continue to depend on interpersonal sources of information, regardless of the availability of formal channels and modern sources. The study recommended several measures, including the use of multiple sources of information and delivery of information in a variety of formats, in order to accommodate various categories of farmers. The study also suggested some areas for further research. Furthermore, a model for effective dissemination of poultry management information in rural areas was proposed. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)