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.
19 pages., Information is an important factor in agricultural development. The study investigated farmers’ agricultural information needs and seeking behavior in the Southern Regional State of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional research design was employed and the study population included all household heads of the eight sampled villages in four administrative zones. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to obtain a sample of 320 farmers. Quantitative data were collected and research adopted descriptive statistics. The results revealed information on crop production technologies; information about diseases, pests and weather forecasts, and market information were identified as the top three most important types of agricultural information. Similarly, crop production technologies; animal husbandry technologies, and information about agricultural inputs were the information farmers seek frequently. Farmers use development agents as the first source of agricultural information. All of the respondents communicate with development agents face-to-face.
