ABSTRACT
This work examines the access
and use of information communication technologies (ICT) among rural farmers in
Enugu State. It is the contention of this study that there is a lacuna between
access and usage of ICT among the rural farmers in Enugu state and generally in
Nigeria. This study applauds the impact of ICT in enhancing the agricultural
productivity in Nigeria especially as it concerns the rural communities.
However, this work is designed to ascertain types of ICTs available to the
farmers in rural area of Enugu state, determine the farmers’ level of access to
ICTs, determine the level of usage of ICTs by farmers, determine the extent to
which these ICTs have been perceived to be effective in information
dissemination to rural farmers; and identify the persuaded challenges to
effective use of ICTs among the rural farmers. In the methodology, data were
collected mainly from secondary and primary sources and the work was designed
to cover the three agricultural zones in Enugu state namely; Enugu-North, Enugu-East,
and Enugu-West zones. In each of these agricultural zones, one local government
was sampled out. In Enugu-North zone we sampled out Nsukka, Enugu-West zone we
sampled Awgu, while in Enugu-East zone we sample out Isi-Uzo. Forty farmers
were selected from each of the above named local governments making a total of
120 farmers. In the measurement of variables focus was drawn on the
respondents’ sex, age, marital status, educational qualification, years spent
to acquire formal education, years of farming experiences, primary occupation.
The use of Pearson correlation coefficient at 0.05 level was adopted to analyze
the data. Results of the study showed that a high proportion (38%) of the
respondents were within the age bracket of 40-49 years and their mean age was
46 years. Majority (67%) of the respondents were males. Most of the rural
farmers (97.3%) were married. A good proportion (23.3%) of the farmers had WAEC
as their highest educational qualification. The average year of working
experience was 21 years. Also, majority (56.3%) of the respondents had farming
as their primary occupation. The findings also revealed that most of the
farmers were aware of radio, television, mobile phone and video CD players,
while few others were aware of the other ICT tools. Most of these ICT tools
were not available to farmers however many of them had radio, mobile phone,
television and video CD player. It was evident from the study that many of the
farmers had access to radio, television and mobile phone but most of the other
modern ICTs were not accessible to them. It was also found that these ICT tools
that were accessible were often being used by farmers and were perceived to be
very effective in obtaining information, and communicating effectively among
the farmers. The major
constraints that hindered the use of ICT by farmers were epileptic power supply
(M=2.73), poor finance (M=2.54), High cost of ICT infrastructure (M=2.30), Lack
of connectivity to access (M=2.23), Lack of adequate awareness (M=2.22), and
Government policies (M=2.18), etc.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background information
Growth in agricultural
production in some developing countries has been slow despite the various
stages of structural transformation by different countries in the world.
Efforts are being made to overcome this situation by disseminating information
about improved agricultural technologies directly to farm people. In this
regard, Mohammed and Wanaso (1993) noted that knowledge and information are
important factors for accelerating agricultural development by increasing
agricultural production and improving marketing and distribution. Several
studies have shown that a variety of information sources are needed for
disseminating farm information and that there are variations in the extension
sources (Omenesa 1992; Moemeka 1990).
According to the Technical
Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) (2003), information
communication technology (ICT) refers to all information and communication
systems and technologies that facilitate communication and the processing and
transmission of information by electronic means. Heeks (1999) defines ICT as
electronic device for capturing, processing, storing and communicating
information. ICTs can enhance the integration and efficiency of agricultural
system by opening new communication pathways and reducing transaction cost,
given greater accessibility of information on price, transportation and
production.
Technologies, including ICT are
rapidly transforming the face of agriculture in industrialized countries. Most
activities in the agricultural market place are now mediated by web linked data
based specifying prices, qualities and quantities demanded (International Food
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2004). ICTs have reduced the cost and
increased the spread of communication. It is no longer something that appears
only in organizations’ wish list, but a well structured one to be used as a
backbone to enable organization to
Agriculture, which depends
largely on information exchange between researchers, extension workers and
farmers, is an area which ICT is known to have significant impact. ICTs
application can be used to transmit information directly to farmers and the
farming communities, for example ICT can be applied to handle agricultural
issues such as water utilization and management, pest control, harvest
management etc. The emerging trend in information and communication
technologies presents opportunities to improve rural farmers’ participation in
farming. ICTs applications are also useful in facilitating development
programmes in many countries. These technologies help in supporting economic
and social development (Mansell and When, 1998).
Majority of rural farmers
depend entirely on agriculture at various levels for livelihood. However,
disease, pests, soil degradation and other factors such as lack of market for
easily perishable crops have greatly affected the total national incomes and
subsequently the standard of living of people in rural communities. Access to
accurate and timely information by rural farmers can result in enhanced
economic and social development. Access to information as prescribed in
government strategies requires cheap and fast dissemination of information to
farmers. However, in the rural areas, limited resources, including limited
telecommunications and energy infrastructure, have contributed to slow
implementation of such government initiatives.
All stakeholders of
agricultural industry need information and knowledge to manage different phases
of agriculture efficiently. These main areas of agriculture industry include
crop cultivation, water management, fertilizer application, pest management,
harvesting, post harvest handling, transporting of food products, packaging,
food preservation and......
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