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Communication Network and Some Factors in Agricultural Technology Adoption in the Kao Hin Sorn Research and Development Project, Eastern Region of Thailand
Dissertation Abstract:
This study investigated the communication networks and factors related to agricultural technology adoption among the respondents of two villages of the Kao Hin Sorn Research and Development Project (KARDC) area in Thailand. It primarily aimed to determine the relationship among communication network. individual characteristics and media exposure, and agricultural technology adoption. Both direct and indirect influence of the three factors toward the KARDC's agricultural technology adoption were studied.
All household heads in the two selected villages were respondents of this study. They were interviewed using an interview schedule with five parts. The first part asked about the respondents' demographic, socioeconomic, and agricultural characteristics. The second part sought information on med ia ownership and media exposure. The third part stressed the who-to-whom sociometry to identify the communication links of the individual with the others in a network. The fourth part dealt with characteristics of the agricultural technology based on the respondents' perception of these technologies. The last part asked about farmers' practices of the selected agricultural technologies promoted by KARDC within fiscal year 1988-1989. The network analysis was accomplished using the UClNET program while the descriptive statistics and hypotheses testing used the SPSS/PC +program.
Results of the study revealed that there were significant differences in interpersonal communication network indices between the two villages for betweenness, openness, and diversity. There were no significant differences in connectedness and integration. This was significant in that respondents differed mostly in socioeconomic and agricultural characteristics.
At 0.05 level, correlation analysis revealed that betweenness and connectedness was positively correlated with income. organizational memberships, and irrigation system. Farm ownership was correlated with connectedness. Openness was also correlated with electricity available and plant cultivation.
In testing the three factors, it was found out that they were all positively related with agricultural technology adoption as well as the characteristics of technology.
Interpersonal communication network variables had positive significant relationships with agricultural technology adoption. These variables included openness a nd divers ity in the demographic, socioeconomic, and agricultura l characteristics. They were not related with betweenness, connectedness, and integration. However, betweenness, connectedness, openness, and diversity in income and electricity available were related to the characteristics of agricultural technology as perceived by the respondents.
The individual characteristics, especially main and secondary occupations, organizational membership, funding sources, irrigation system, plant cultivation, and li vestock and fishery were correlated with technology adoption. However, some of these variables were positively correlated with the characteristics of technology including organizational membership, irrigation system, plant cultivation, and livestock fishery.
Farm ownership, income, and e lectricity variables were also correlated. Media exposure, on the other hand, was related to technology adoption in crop production, particularly radio program, demonstration plot in village, and training atta inment of KARDC but was not related to total technology adoption. However, results ind icated a relationship with the characteristics of technology in the case of newspapers and magazines in mass communication: village captain and formal meeting in interpersonal communication; and demonstration plot in villages, training attainment, and publication in KARDC media.
Results also showed a significant relationship between every agricultural technology characteristic and every techno logy adoption. The correlation coefficient (r) was found to be highest for each pair of technology.
The results of the hypothesis testing showed that these three factors directly affected agricultu ral technology adoption and indirectly affected, through the intervening variable, the characteristics of agricultural technology.
