Communication variables associated with utilization of upgraded goat production technology in Nueva Ecija (Philippines)

The study tried to find how goat farmers communicate with one another, how much they knew about improved technology in goat production, the problems they have experienced in raising goats and the nature of communication best suited for them to enhance their ability in using the improved goat production technology. The study was conducted in Nueva Ecija, where the improved goat production technology developed by the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) was introduced. Results of the study indicated that the goat farmers were not satisfied with what they knew about the new technology and so they sought additional information from other sources like technicians and researchers and shared this information with one another through an extensive social networks that extended to other parts of the region. This network of goat farmers seemed also to have helped improve the dissemination to more farmers about the information on the new goat-raising technology introduced by CLSU. The goat farmers combined their knowledge about goat-raising through effective exchange of information and knowledge, which is the essence of participatory development. In general, the study found that interpersonal communication was clearly the main form of interaction among the goat farmers and that they themselves were the best disseminators of information on improved goat raising technology. While they were found to like the technology, their level of knowledge about it was only average, perhaps because they were partly discouraged by the problems they encountered, which were related to the animals' health, the lack of pasture areas and the feeding habits of goats, which the farmers found too intense, requiring too much work. The study's main recommendation is that those introducing improved goat-raising technology would have to get the farmers themselves to disseminate the information and convince their fellow farmers to adopt the said technology. In other words, get the farmers to serve as change agents among their fellow farmers.