Misinformation in Agriculture: How Actors Shape Agricultural Information Systems

This study looks at how misinformation spreads through Nigeria’s agricultural information system. It focuses on how this affects climate change adaptation. Online surveys with 128 farmers and interviews with key actors were analyzed using logistic regression and thematic analysis. Public extension agents are the most trusted source, but contact with farmers is infrequent. That gap gets filled by other farmers in the same social group. These informal channels spread misinformation unintentionally, often from honest technical misunderstandings. Combined with factors such as age and experience, this misinformation leads farmers to abandon resilient practices, such as crop rotation and cover cropping, during climate shocks. The study concludes that farmers are central to the spread of misinformation, though unintentionally. It calls for a coordinated information system with direct communication, formal verification processes, and stronger farmer capacity for information verification.