Knowledge Needs of Agricultural Employees in the Nineveh Agriculture Directorate and its affiliated agricultural divisions in the field of managing the harvesting and marketing process of wheat crops

الملخص

This research aimed to identify the knowledge needs of agricultural employees within the Nineveh Agriculture Directorate and its affiliated divisions concerning the management of wheat harvesting and marketing. Also, it is sought to measure the correlation between these knowledge needs and several variables. The study population consisted of 374 agricultural employees, from which a sample of 100 respondents (27%) was selected. Data were collected using a questionnaire whose face validity was confirmed and reliability was measured using the Cronbach's Alpha method, yielding a value of 0.82. For data analysis, arithmetic mean, frequencies, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were employed. The findings revealed that approximately 97% of the respondents exhibited moderate to high knowledge needs in the domain of wheat harvesting and marketing management. Several items were ranked highest in terms of knowledge needs, while others were ranked lowest. The results also indicated a significant correlation between the respondents' knowledge needs and the variables of academic specialization and level of exposure to agricultural information sources. The paper concludes with several findings and recommendations