Information and communication technologies (ICTs): The potential for enhancing the dissemination of agricultural information and services to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Mapiye, Obvious (author), Makombe, Godswill (author), Molotsi, Annelin (author), Dzama, Kennedy (author), and Mapiye, Cletos (author)
    Format:
    Journal article
    Publication Date:
    2021-12-21
    URL:
    https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02666669211064847
    Published:
    South Africa: SAGE Journals
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12436
    Journal Title:
    Information Development
    Journal Title Details:
    I-21
    Subject Term:
    Africa, developing nations, development, information, information flow, small farmers, small farms, technology, and applications (apps)
    Notes:
    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

    Tools