Use of Mobile Phone Technology in Agricultural Marketing (original) (raw)
Related papers
The mobile phone technology is an important tool to enhance farmers' access to better paying agricultural markets. The study reports the results of a household study in Mwanza, Dedza and Mzimba Districts of Malawi. The study assesses drivers of adoption of mobile phone technology for agricultural marketing by smallholder farmers. The study used regression techniques to identify drivers and extent of mobile phone use. Results show that use is positively affected by literacy, distance to local market, land size, current value of assets, crop income, and region variations but negatively influenced by access to electricity. Intensity of use is conditioned by gender, participation in agricultural projects, ownership of a mobile phone, current asset value, distance to nearest public phone services, and region variations. Asset endowment plays a critical role in enhancing adoption of mobile phone technology. Gender disparities significantly affect adoption as most women have limited access to assets. The study suggests the need to improve farmers' access to mobile phones for agricultural marketing. It recommends that government, in collaboration with mobile network operators, should reduce calling tariffs to enhance use, gender disparities in accessing assets should be minimised, and investment in supporting infrastructure must be enhanced.
Cogent Social Sciences
Lack of access to markets occasioned by missing market information has constrained market participation among smallholder farmers in developing countries. Advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have helped in connecting rural farmers through mobile phone to market sources. This study investigated the adoption of mobile phone for marketing of agricultural produce among Qamata Irrigation Scheme (QIS) smallholder farmers in South Africa and the determinants of adoption. Two stage random sampling technique was used to interview 97 smallholder farmers employing a semi-structured questionnaire. Data generated was analysed using descriptive statistics and probit regression model. Analysis result shows that 71% of the smallholder farmers currently use mobile phone for agricultural marketing. Majority of the respondents (55%) used mobile phone to market their produce among relatives and neighbours. Probit regression result indicates that gender, social grant as main income source, private traders and local market marketing channel, monthly income, political and economic factors ABOUT THE AUTHORS Miss Thembakazi Sikundla conducted this study as an honours student under the supervision of Prof A Mushunje in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension at the University of Fort Hare, Alice during 2016 academic session.
South African Journal of Agricultural Extension (SAJAE), 2016
Smallholder farmers are major contributors of horticultural produce. Women's contribution is noteworthy. Meeting market demand on time and avoiding market 'floods' is a challenge among communal farmers, leading to post harvest losses partly due to lack of information and uninformed decision making. Mobile phones have potential to connect farmers to markets, close the information gap and enable informed decisions. Currently most farmers target a few markets leading to market 'floods', low prices and fresh produce deterioration while some potential markets remain untapped. A survey conducted in 2015 covering 131 farmers in Svosve-Wenimbi, Marondera district of Mashonaland East province in Zimbabwe evaluated mobile phone ownership and use in farming; and its potential in transforming production and marketing. High literacy and mobile phone ownership of 95.32% and 94.45% respectively was reported, with 16% already accessing advisory services over mobile phone. 51.1% utilised various mobile phone services including accessing market information on inputs and produce, advisory services, weather data, mobile phone money transfers for transaction and crop insurance. By using mobile phones farmers made informed decisions and saved time and transport cost. Mobile phone ICT can promote better production, marketing, food security and livelihoods and more farmers may adopt the technology.
2018 International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research
The Ministry of Agriculture, through the Department of Agriculture Extension Services, intensified the use of ICTs in Agriculture extension as one way of mitigating the high extension worker to farmer ratio in Malawi. ICT-based agricultural extension in Malawi has evolved from using traditional ICT tools to modern ones. Of interest to this study is the Mchikumbe 212 platform. This service was launched by Airtel Malawi, in partnership with the Human Network International (HNI) in September 2015. The service aims to transform farming by increasing farmers’ access to information and advisory services. It provides farmers with access to practical information about agriculture via interactive voice response and short messaging services, where farmers listen to agriculture extension advisory services on a crop of their choice on their mobile phones by dialing 212. However, the adoption of the Mchikumbe 212 platform has not been satisfactory as the number of registered users has decreased ...
Progress in Development Studies
Recent growth in mobile telephone and mobile-based information services in many developing countries provides opportunities to reduce costly and incomplete information dissemination in the agricultural sector and ensure efficient functioning of markets. But in order to successfully use mobile phones for the optimal development of agricultural markets, understanding the impact of social structure on mobile phone adoption, its uses and perceived impacts are invaluable. Although global assessments of capacity in the use of information communication technology (ICT) devices have been considered, such assessments mask significant geo-spatial variations among local farmers—male and female—with respect to their capacity to effectively use basic mobile phone functions. Documenting and recognizing this is important for the development of national agricultural ICT policies, as well as programmes aimed at increasing farmers’ knowledge and use of ICT for agricultural marketing. This article’s c...
African Journal of Information and Communication, 2018
This article provides findings from a baseline study on mobile phone use by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study investigated use of mobile phones by 58 farming households in a village in Zimbabwe's Midlands Province. Via a survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion, the study found that 100% of the surveyed households identified "asymmetry of information" as a challenge they face in their agricultural activities, and 90% cited "absence of market information" as a challenge. Yet at the same time, the study found low levels of household mobile phone usage, with only 50% of households were found to be using mobile telephony in support of a farming activity. The article concludes with a recommendation for how to close this apparent gap between the smallholder farmers' felt need for increased agricultural information and, at the same time, their lack of use of mobile telephony to access such information.
PLOS ONE
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 opportunities 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.
Mobile Phone Use by Zimbabwean Smallholder Farmers: A Baseline Study
This article provides findings from a baseline study on mobile phone use by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study investigated use of mobile phones by 58 farming households in a village in Zimbabwe's Midlands Province. Via a survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion, the study found that 100% of the surveyed households identified "asymmetry of information" as a challenge they face in their agricultural activities, and 90% cited "absence of market information" as a challenge. Yet at the same time, the study found low levels of household mobile phone usage, with only 50% of households were found to be using mobile telephony in support of a farming activity. The article concludes with a recommendation for how to close this apparent gap between the smallholder farmers' felt need for increased agricultural information and, at the same time, their lack of use of mobile telephony to access such information.
South African Computer Journal, 2024
There is a lack of acceptance, adoption and sustained use of mobile phones for agricultural purposes by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, but the reasons for this have not been critically explored. In this study, the authors used a naturalistic methodology to help uncover the nuances of adoption dynamics among smallholder farmers in Gokwe South District, Zimbabwe. Data was gathered from in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings suggest that gender, age, land ownership size, farming experience, mobile device ownership, and the period of owning a mobile device are critical precursors to adoption and use. Furthermore, digital proficiency and literacy, affluence, mobile technology services cost and telecommunication infrastructure availability are vital in achieving continuous, sustainable use of mobile technology in the Zimbabwean agricultural sector. This research has practical implications for policy and practice and may inform national legislation encouraging the increased use and affordability of mobile devices in the local agricultural sector. The research also makes a theoretical contribution in terms of unpacking the key factors that inhibit the adoption of mobile technology in marginalised settings.
Mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector: Are farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa connected?
Technological Forecasting and Social Change
In recent years user acceptance of a new technology has become of much interest. One of the most outstanding global problems facing Africa is the digital divide. However, the use and adoption of mobile phones is reducing the digital divide in Africa. In view of the role that mobile phones play in bridging the digital divide in Africa, this study extends the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM), without altering its parsimony and information technology focus, in mobile phone adoption. This paper extends the TAM model by adding two new constructs, perceived advantage and socioeconomic characteristics. Consequently, the extended TAM was applied to adoption of mobile phones in farming communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study relies on a sample from 300 dairy farmers in Uganda which was analysed using structural equation modelling. Theoretically, it contributes to the limited literature on mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and provides empirical evidence from Ugandan farmers. The research contributes to promoting mobile phone usage in farming communities beyond just normal communication. The research also has a strong practical implication for farmers as well as other stakeholders from the agri-food sector.