Information generation, access and utilization by rural dwellers for sustainable community development in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine how rural dwellers information access and utilization has affected rural community development in Kwara State. In order to achieve the two objectives three null hypotheses formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The objectives were to: find out the types of information genereated and disseminated for the rural dwellers in Kwara State, and find out the extent to which the rural dwellers in Kwara State access and utilizeinformation available to them. Survey method was adopted for the study, the population of the study consist of village heads and residents of the study area. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. A total of 384 (100%) copies of questionnaire were distributed and administered to the population. SPSS 20.0 version software was used to analyse data. T-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) statistics were used for the three null hypotheses.The findings of the study revealed that there is significant difference between the types of information generated and disseminated for rural dwellers in Kwara State. There is significant relationship between information disseminated and utilized in rural communities in Kwara State. There is significant difference among rural dwellers in the types of information they accessed and utilized in Kwara State.The study recommended that for the needs of rural dwellers to be met, reliable sources and channels of information have a crucial role to play and current, relevant and appropriate information need to be generated and disseminated for rural dwellers in Kwara State.

Keywords: Information Access, Information Utilization, Rural dwellers, Rural Communities, and Sustainable Development