1 - 7 of 7
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
2. Digitalizing agriculture in rural Senegal
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (author)
- Format:
- Article
- Publication Date:
- 2023-07-20
- Published:
- Senegal: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12940
- Notes:
- 6 pages
3. Mobile phone use is associated with higher smallholder agricultural productivity in Tanzania, East Africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Quandt, Amy (author), Salerno, Jonathan D. (author), Neff, Jason C. (author), Baird, Timothy D. (author), Herrick, Jeffrey E. (author), McCabe, J. Terrence (author), Xu, Emilie (author), and Hartter, Joel (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-08-11
- Published:
- United States: PLOS
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12425
- Journal Title:
- PLoS ONE
- Journal Title Details:
- Online First
- Notes:
- 16 pages., Mobile phone use is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa, spurring a growing focus on mobile phones as tools to increase agricultural yields and incomes on smallholder farms. However, the research to date on this topic is mixed, with studies finding both positive and neutral associations between phones and yields. In this paper we examine perceptions about the impacts of mobile phones on agricultural productivity, and the relationships between mobile phone use and agricultural yield. We do so by fitting multilevel statistical models to data from farmer-phone owners (n = 179) in 4 rural communities in Tanzania, controlling for site and demographic factors. Results show a positive association between mobile phone use for agricultural activities and reported maize yields. Further, many farmers report that mobile phone use increases agricultural profits (67% of respondents) and decreases the costs (50%) and time investments (47%) of farming. Our findings suggest that there are opportuni- ties to target policy interventions at increasing phone use for agricultural activities in ways that facilitate access to timely, actionable information to support farmer decision making.
4. Realizing the potential of digital development: The case of agricultural advice
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Schilbach, Frani (author), Kremer, Michael (author), and Fabregas, Raissa (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-12-13
- Published:
- United States: American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12491
- Journal Title:
- Science
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol 366, Issue 6471
- Notes:
- 12 pages, Mobile phones are almost universally available, and the costs of information transmission are low. They are used by smallholder farmers in low-income countries, largely successfully, to optimize markets for their produce. Fabregas et al. review the potential for boosting mobile phone use with smartphones to deliver not only market information but also more sophisticated agricultural extension advice. GPS-linked smartphones could provide locally relevant weather and pest information and video-based farming advice. But how to support the financial requirements of such extension services is less obvious, given the unwieldiness of government agencies and the vested interests of commercial suppliers.
5. Smartphone Application in Turkish Agriculture Sector
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Ermak, Ebru (author), Gürel, Aydin (author), and Sarioglu, Muaffak (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Language:
- English / Turkish
- Publication Date:
- 2021-03-01
- Published:
- Turkey: Igdir University Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12214
- Journal Title:
- Journal of the Institute of Science & Technology
- Journal Title Details:
- Volume 11, Issue 1
- Notes:
- 23 pages; Scroll to very bottom of journal record for access to pdf., In parallel with the development of technology, there have been changes in information acquisition, communication, agricultural production and agricultural extension activities. In this context, it is important for producers to be able to carry out their plant production and animal production activities more consciously, easily or quickly. The rapid spread of smartphones and the smartphone applications developed accordingly, different applications developed by various institutions (such as public and private sector, unions and cooperatives) are a fairly new issue in terms of agricultural extension, agricultural production and digitalization in agriculture. Defining an innovation as an innovation and accepting it as the final result undoubtedly pass through some processes. In this study, the recognition of innovation is discussed. The aim of the study is examined in two ways. First, the current situation of smartphone applications in Turkey were analyzed. Which of these applications are used and which organizations serve the producers were obtained by conducting research on the internet and examining the secondary data. In the second part, which of these applications are known or used by the producers in Edirne Province Lalapaşa District were questioned on the basis of the producers. Online network was used as a method in the research. The presence of a group established by Lalapaşa producers, which is organized through Facebook, which is one of the social media channels, has made it easier to find out which smartphone applications are used. In order to determine which applications Lalapaşa producers use; 265 producers responded to the survey conducted over the group established on Facebook between January 23, 2020 and January 30, 2020. 428 people, including 392 men and 36 women, were producers in the group, and 61.92% of the producers participated in the survey. The research showed us the applications created by the public sector is more when it is compared the cooperative and private sector in Turkey. Among the applications of the public sector; it has been determined that Meteorological Condition Application, Land Registry Cadastre Parcel Query Application, and e-Goverment Application are used more than other applications.
6. The Perceptions of Smallholder Farmers on the Use of Mobile Technology: A Naturalistic Inquiry in Zimbabwe
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Format:
- Book chapter
- Publication Date:
- 2022-03-12
- Published:
- International: Springer Link
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12572
- Journal Title:
- Future of Information Communication Conference
- Notes:
- 14 pages, This research is an inquiry into the (under)utilisation of mobile phones by smallholder farmers in their agricultural activities in Zimbabwe. Through a naturalistic enquiry, the research established that agricultural extension officers are vital in the adoption and use of mobile phones for agricultural purposes. Those extension officers who were not skilled in productively using mobile phone technology had technophobia, which was the primary reason they did not use the technology in their interactions with farmers. Yet, a sizeable number of farmers used their mobile phones to receive information from agricultural extension officers, officials, other farmers, and market vendors. Interviewed farmers perceived the mobile phone as a tool for education in agricultural matters. However, very few used their phones effectively for agricultural purposes. The research identified two main inhibitors to the acceptance and use of mobile phones by farmers: a lack of the necessary digital skills, and lacking information to use mobile phones. Other inhibiting factors included semi-literacy, old age, insufficient infrastructure, socioeconomic status, excessive cost, and lack of support from telecommunications companies and other service providers. This research contributes a novel perspective to the body of knowledge regarding mobile technology adoption for agricultural activity in marginalised communities.
7. The Revolution of Mobile Phone-Enabled Services for Agricultural Development (m-Agri Services) in Africa: The Challenges for Sustainability
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Emeana, Ezinne M. (author), Trenchard, Liz (author), and Dehnen-Schmutz, Katharina (author)
- Format:
- unknown
- Publication Date:
- 2020-02
- Published:
- 2020-01-09: MDPI
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12211
- Journal Title:
- Sustainability
- Journal Title Details:
- 2020, 12(2)
- Notes:
- 27 pages., The provision of information through mobile phone-enabled agricultural information services (m-Agri services) has the potential to revolutionise agriculture and significantly improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Africa. Globally, the benefits of m-Agri services include facilitating farmers’ access to financial services and sourcing agricultural information about input use, practices, and market prices. There are very few published literature sources that focus on the potential benefits of m-Agri services in Africa and none of which explore their sustainability. This study, therefore, explores the evolution, provision, and sustainability of these m-Agri services in Africa. An overview of the current landscape of m-Agri services in Africa is provided and this illustrates how varied these services are in design, content, and quality. Key findings from the exploratory literature review reveal that services are highly likely to fail to achieve their intended purpose or be abandoned when implementers ignore the literacy, skills, culture, and demands of the target users. This study recommends that, to enhance the sustainability of m-Agri services, the implementers need to design the services with the users involved, carefully analyse, and understand the target environment, and design for scale and a long-term purpose. While privacy and security of users need to be ensured, the reuse or improvement of existing initiatives should be explored, and projects need to be data-driven and maintained as open source. Thus, the study concludes that policymakers can support the long-term benefit of m-Agri services by ensuring favourable policies for both users and implementers.