DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMERS AND GENERAL USE OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN THE PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

In Pakistan, like other countries of the world, electronic media have opened new avenues of information and entertainment for people from diversified sectors of life including agriculture. The paper covers the general use of electronic media by the farmers for various purposes and its relationship with demographic characteristics. The data were collected with the help of reliable and validated interview schedule from 330 randomly selected respondents from Faisalabad district of Punjab province. Regarding ownership and general use of electronic media, the results showed more inclination towards TV and mobile as compared to radio and telephone. The most prominent purpose for using TV, radio and internet was information and entertainment while mobile phone, help lines and telephone were used for the purposes of making contacts, information sharing and getting assistance. There existed highly significant positive correlation between age of the respondents and use of radio by them but highly significant negative relationship in case of TV.