The use of a mobile phone as an aid to the growth of agriculture in Uganda: a case study Logoba Village in Moyo District
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Date
2013-08
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Kampala International University; College of Economics and management
Abstract
Mobile phone emerges as a great tool to enhance the system of transfer of information in agriculture, so an effort in this study has been made to enumerate the uses of mobile phones in growth of agriculture in Logoba village in Moyo District which is based on combination of ICTD and diffusion theories to understand mobile phone adoption in a holistic mam1er. In doing so, the presented findings provide insight into why individuals within resource constrained environments can adopt mobile phones, and what barriers and opportunities appear in the diffusion process. 50 respondents; 39 farmers, 9 local councilors, I agricultural extension worker, and I local council chairman selected through simple random sampling technique and purposive sampling technique were contacted for interview, data collected were summarize, coded before being analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Primary data was also collected to know the opinion and preferences of fanners towards the use of mobile phones in agriculture. The study found that, mobile phone technology acceptance to rural Logoba village was high enough for one to accompany it with a predictable positive economic impact. In tenus of access to agricultural information through mobile phones, it was evident that, people in the study area capture the advantages of increased number of mobile phone to access information related to their farming business. Data shows that farmers preferred information on marketing most. According to fanners, Private agencies such as NGOs and fam1ers cooperatives are the most credible source of information while governmental agencies are least. Majority of the fanners preferred SMS as the best way of providing information as they can read and save it for its future use. Most of respondents valued mobile phones as easy, fast and convenient way of communicating agricultural information. Factors that influenced mobile phone use in communicating agricultural information included mobile phone ownership, type of agricultural information to be communicated, farming system practiced, network coverage, and respondents' socio-economic characteristics. On the other hand, lack of electricity, poverty and lack of knowledge limited respondents' mobile phone ownership and use. Based on the conclusions, the researcher recommended that the government, NGOs and other development agencies should introduce public phone booths especially in rural areas through which farmers could be capable to communicate agricultural information, government should provide the subsidized phones to the farmers with necessary functions and also provide facility of subsidized agricultural messages should be provided to the fanners since from thee report, fanners rated SMS high as a way of delivering information
Description
A research report submitted to College of Economics and Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Award of Bachelor of Business Computing of Kampala International University
Keywords
Use of mobile phone, Growth of agriculture, Moyo District, Uganda