10 pages., he impact of mobile money services in sub-Saharan Africa have been largely recognised. However, empirical studies are principally lacking on the factors influencing the decision to own a mobile phone (first hurdle), register with mobile money (second hurdle) and the intensity of use of mobile money services (third hurdle). This study examined the determinants of the mobile phone ownership, drivers of registration (participation) of mobile money services, and the intensity of use of mobile money services in rural Ghana by employing the triple hurdle approach. The first and second hurdle were analysed using the logit model while quasi-poisson regression was used to analyse the third hurdle. The analysis from the cross-sectional data showed that the decision to own a mobile phone was driven by household size, marital status, the farm size, access to electricity, income status and the type of occupation engaged, whereas the decision to register with mobile money was influenced by the age, educational status, marital status, household size, farm size and the type of occupation engaged in by the household head. The intensity of usage of mobile money services was influenced by the age of the household head, higher educational level, marital status of the household head, household and farm size as well as the distance of the household heads from the mobile money agent which directly influences the intensity of use of mobile money services by household heads. The study recommends that strategies that promote access to electricity and occupation in the formal sector or both farming and trading in the rural communities should be promoted. Furthermore, policy attention should focus on location, farmers and farm characteristics.
11 pages., Declining crop productivity is a great challenge facing smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Agro-ecological practices can improve crop productivity in a sustainable way and produce healthy food among smallholder farmers. Initiation of “Farmer-Led Research of Agro-Ecological Practices” (FLRAG) may enhance farmers’ capacities for innovation and co-develop suitable agro-ecological practices. This study aimed at identifying factors influencing smallholder farmers to participate in FLRAG. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 90 smallholder farmers in Mvomero, Bagamoyo and Masasi districts in Tanzania. Data were also collected from key informants who were extension officers. The study identified that experience in farming, easiness in accessing agro-ecological inputs, interest in doing experiments and farm size ownership are the factors that substantially influence smallholder farmers to participate in FLRAG. Therefore, researchers are advised to select participants of FLRAG by considering the mentioned factors. Furthermore, farmers selected to participate in FLRAG are advised to the use of ugunduzi app” that was developed purposefully to enhance agro-ecological research in order to test and understand its potential on smoothing agro-ecological research activities.
21 pages, The transformation of smallholder farming is poised to be one of the key drivers of achieving the dual objectives of food security and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers account for between 60–80% of the food produced in the region but face many challenges that impede their productivity. Such challenges include a lack of timely access to appropriate agricultural information and services, which results in poor decision-making, particularly in addressing challenges and responding effectively to opportunities. In that context, the effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in improving accessibility to appropriate agricultural information and services presents substantial prospects for transforming the productivity and livelihoods of the farmers. Currently, the region experiences massive penetration and propagation of mobile and web-based applications. However, there is a dearth of compelling, comprehensive reviews evaluating their importance in enhancing agricultural information and services dissemination to smallholder farmers. Therefore, the current review explores the potential of enhancing agricultural information and services dissemination to smallholder farmers through ICTs and highlights gaps in their development and deployment in SSA. Five existing mobile applications used to disseminate agricultural information and services to smallholder farmers were identified, and their advantages, limitations, and opportunities were discussed. These were Esoko, iCow, Community Knowledge Workers, WeFarm and DigiFarm. The development and deployment of user-driven mobile applications that provide curated skill-sharing platforms, encourage farmers to give feedback to extension systems in real-time and promote the participation of women and youth in agriculture are recommended.
Keywords
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12528
Notes:
2 pages, The objective of this study was to assess the possibility of mobile phone use by vegetable farmers for dissemination of agricultural extension services in the South Gezira Locality. Descriptive approach was used and 280 farmers are selected from 1025 farmers in South Gezira Locality. A close ended questionnaire was constructed to collect primary data from 280 vegetable farmers in three units in the South Gezira Locality in April 2019. The collected data were coded, fed to computer and statistically analyzed using SPSS to show frequency distribution and chi-square to test the postulated hypotheses. Results showed that the majority of respondents (92.2%) were males, middle in age and literate, 70% of the farmers had an experience in the cultivation of vegetables more than ten years. The majority of respondents possess normal and smart mobile phones 81% of the farmers had an experience in the use of mobile phones, 81% used mobile phone for both social contact and collection of information. About 53.1% of the respondents used mobile phone for access of the internet. Chi-square test showed a significant association between having a mobile phone, mobile type, use of a mobile and benefits obtained from using a mobile and some personal characteristics of respondents. From this study, it can be concluded that it was possible to use mobile phone in the delivery of agricultural extension services to vegetable farmers in South Gezira Locality. The study recommended that farmers families should be encouraged to use mobile phones by supporting them financially and materially by governments and private sector. More awareness and training of both farmers and extension agents on the effective and efficient use of mobile phone facilities are recommended.
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.
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.
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.
Rizkiansyah, M. (author), Ariestyani, A. (author), and Yunus, U. (author)
Format:
Conference paper with abstract
Publication Date:
2022-03-01
Published:
Netherlands: IOP Publishing
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12513
Journal Title Details:
2022 Iop Sci. Conference
Notes:
9 pages, Data from the Indonesian Seed and Farmers Technology Association data shows that 22 percent of Indonesian farmers have used smartphones to obtain agricultural information. But many farmers still struggle to get information especially in the pandemic era. This research is to find out how the comparison of information delivery patterns between traditional media and cyber media on farmers in Bangil. Indonesia. This research theory uses the theory of cyber extensions. This research method by, observe online media, interviewing several farmers in Bangil and supported by survey data to 85 farmers in Bangil. The results showed that although cyber media began to enter as one of the sources of information for farmers, only a few were dependent on online, while the rest still relied on information from extension methods. Counselling still needed as a connection between farmers and Internet.
