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The Contract Farmers' Perception of the Credibility Characteristics of Tambol Agents in Singburi, Thailand
Thesis Abstract:
The study attempted to describe how the contact farmers perceived the credibility characteristics of Tambol Agents. Specifically, the study sought to determine: 1) the characteristics of a credible Tambol Agent as perceived by the contact farmers; 2) to what degree the Tambol Agents should possess said characteristics as perceived credible by the contact farmers; 3) whether Tambol Agents were perceived to be credible by the contact farmers; 4) if the contact farmers' perception of a credible Tambol Agent and the Tambol Agents' own perception of their credibility are the same; and 5) if significant relationships exist between some of the contact farmers' characteristics and their perception of a credible Tambol Agent.
Data were gathered from two units of analysis (140 contact farmers and 32 Tambol Agents in Singburi Province, Thailand) through structured interview and questionnaire schedules.
Results showed that the contact farmers perceived the Tambol Agent to be credible if he possessed all four characteristics of credibility in this order of importance: dynamic, qualified, sociable, and safe. The contact farmers perceived their Tambol Agents to be safe and sociable enough to be credible but still lacked in the qualification and dynamism dimensions of credibility. However, the contact farmers still considered the Tambol Agents as credible in the overall characteristics.
The Tambol Agents' perception and that of the contact farmers were different. Hence, their perceptions could not be substituted for the other. The contact farmers' characteristics that were found to be significantly related to their perceptions on credibility included: exposure to Tambol Agent, exposure to mass media, and attitude toward extension work. Most of these relationships were positive expect for the relationship between exposure to mass media and perception of the safety dimension.