The Knowledge needs of sorghum farmers in Qena Governorate

This research aims to identify the knowledge needs of sorghum farmers regarding extension recommendations in Qena Governorate. It also sought to explore the information sources used by the surveyed farmers concerning these recommendations, and to determine the relationship between the level of knowledge needs and the studied independent variables. The research was conducted on a random sample of 143 farmers. Data were collected using a questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose. Frequencies, percentages, weighted arithmetic means, and simple correlation coefficients were used to present and analyze the data. The results showed that more than half of the respondents (55.2%) had a moderate level of knowledge need regarding the extension recommendations for sorghum cultivation. Additionally, over a quarter of the respondents (27.3%) had a high level of knowledge need, while 17.5% had a low level of need. The findings also revealed that the three most relied-upon sources of information by the respondents regarding sorghum crop recommendations were: agricultural input dealers (87.4%), friends and neighbors (71.3%), and experienced farmers (70.6%). Moreover, a statistically significant and positive correlation was found at the 0.01 probability level between the degree of knowledge needs of the farmers (as the dependent variable) and the following independent variables: educational level, number of years of experience in sorghum cultivation, and the area cultivated with sorghum.