17 pages, The positive spillover impacts of the efficiency of information and communication technology (ICT) and land accessibility as factor inputs to agricultural productivity are well documented in the literature. Furthermore, input-output efficiency as a measurement of factors contributing towards gross production is no exception in this regard. Few studies on agricultural production and ICT at the household level in South Africa show divergent empirical results. This study investigates the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) and land for farming in the context of household food production in South Africa. Household engagement in agricultural activities is proxy for agricultural production, farm land size is a proxy for land accessibility, telephone and internet use are proxies for ICT in this study. Household data of twenty-one thousand, six hundred and one (21,601) households on agricultural activities and ICTs were generated from the existing survey data of General household survey, 2015 by Statistics South Africa. Majority of the households are not engaging in agricultural activities due to no access to land for farming, but more than 80 percent of the households have access to at least one form of ICTs penetration i.e. mobile telephony. The logit regression shows that internet connection in the household have positive and significant impact on household agricultural production but land accessibility is indirectly related and significant to household food production in South Africa. Therefore land accessibility may be a barrier to agricultural activity involvement in South Africa. The study shows that the positive spillover impacts of ICT may not be possible due to lack of access to land for agriculture. Land for farming, CDMA telephony and internet are highly required for agricultural activities in order to promote food production, reduce cost of telecommunications, promoting agricultural research and development via internet accessibility.
26 pages., via online journal., This paper employs the patent data of four major genetically modified (GM) crops, soybeans, cotton, maize and rapeseed, to illustratee how the innovation of GM crop technology diffused and distributed globally over time. Data collected from the Derwent Innovation Index, were employed to construct country patent citation networks, from 1984 to 2015, and the results revealed that developed countries were early adopters, and the primary actors in the innovation of GM crop technology. Only seven developing countries appeared in the country citation network. Most developed countries were reluctant to apply GM crop technology for commercial cultivation. Private businesses stood out in the patent citation network. The early adoption and better performance of developed countries can be explained by the activities of large established private companies.
6 pages., young farmers, Kenya (Africa, Eastern), mobile communication systems, communication networks, technology, dairy, access, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the way information is created, stored, accessed and disseminated. It has the potential to enhance access and use of agricultural information by farmers in rural areas thereby improving their farming practices. The study was undertaken to assess how young farmers use ICT technologies in accessing and using dairy agricultural information in Murang’a County, Kenya. The study aimed at assessing the awareness by farmers on technologies available for use in accessing agricultural information and strategies used by farmers in accessing and using dairy agricultural information as a way of promoting dairy farming production. The results of the study revealed that 88% of the farmers agreed that they were aware of the use of technology in accessing agricultural information. 75% of the respondents used radio where television was rated second while mobile phones were rarely used. Majority at (80%) never used technologies such as computers, CD/DVD and social media to access and use dairy agricultural information. Three quarters (75%) preferred using other sources such as extension workers, friends, and relatives over technology. All the extension officers interviewed used technology to acquire and disseminate information. Radio was highly used, followed by internet/web services and social media. The study concluded that dairy farmers have limited access to modern technologies such as mobile phones in access and use of agricultural information. The Kenya National Library Services in collaboration with the Department of Livestock Production should set up exhibitions and information literacy programs for dairy farmers. Infrastructure should be improved in the rural areas of Murang’a County by setting up Cyber cafes within the subcounties and educate dairy farmers on the use of ICT technologies to access and use agricultural information.
The concept of technology adoption (along with its companions, diffusion and scaling) is commonly used to design development interventions, to frame impact evaluations and to inform decision-making about new investments in development-oriented agricultural research. However, adoption simplifies and mischaracterises what happens during processes of technological change. In all but the very simplest cases, it is likely to be inadequate to capture the complex reconfiguration of social and technical components of a technological practice or system. We review the insights of a large and expanding literature, from various disciplines, which has deepened understanding of technological change as an intricate and complex sociotechnical reconfiguration, situated in time and space. We explain the problems arising from the inappropriate use of adoption as a framing concept and propose an alternative conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating technological change. The new approach breaks down technology change programmes into four aspects: propositions, encounters, dispositions and responses. We begin to sketch out how this new framework could be operationalised.
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