Agricultural information systems and communication networks: the case of dairy farmers in the Samsun province of Turkey

Introduction. Analysis of the agricultural information systems and communication network used by members and non-members of the Dairy Cattle Breeders' Association provided a framework to identify the strength and weaknesses of the current systems and led to recommendations to improve their performance. Method. Structured interviews were used to collect data from a randomly selected forty-three members and sixty-five non-members of the Association. Analysis. Tests of association (e. g., Correlation Coefficient and Kendall's tau) and tests of difference (Student's t test) were performed using SPSS. Results. The main function of the information systems was the dissemination of dairy-faming-related information. Association membership functions as a means to keep more European pure-bred cows and provide financial incentives, rather than developing a modern dairy sector. The non-members of the Association mainly used their current knowledge and traditional practices. Conclusions. The lack of information support from the institutional sources resulted in the development of personal information sources to exchange information and diffuse technology among the farmers themselves. We recommend that more functional cooperation between public and private information sources in the system is needed to motivate conventional dairy farmers to convert into modern dairy farming system.