FARMERSâ€™ AWARENESS AND USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES IN THE LIVESTOCK INNOVATION CHAIN IN IBADAN CITY, NIGERIA

Williams Ezinwa Nwagwu

doi:10.25159/0027-2639/288

Authors

Williams Ezinwa Nwagwu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/0027-2639/288

Keywords:

information and communication technologies, agriculture, livestock, Ibadan City, Nigeria

Abstract

The use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in agriculture is a new and growing field that focuses on how agricultural and rural development activities can be enhanced using modern ICTs. Currently in Nigeria, this field has not addressed how livestock farmers use ICTs to conduct their businesses. The objective of the study was to examine the awareness and use of ICTs by livestock farmers in Ibadan, an agrarian community in Nigeria. The study also investigated the relationship between ICT awareness and use in the various innovation links as well as how the farmersâ€™ demographic characteristics relate to these uses. A questionnaire was used to guide data collection from various types of farmers. From the trade societies of each type of livestock, 340 farmers were selected for the study and usable data was collected from 300 respondents. For all the ICTs listed, more respondents reported awareness of ICTs than use, except for mobile phones where an equal number of respondents reported awareness and use. Marketing was the purpose for which most of the respondents reported using ICTs. Computers were used by large farmers for feed formulation and knowledge management; mobile phones served the purpose of managing animal health, linking customers, managing farms and marketing goods, while Internet/email was scarcely used for farming purposes. The findings of the study raise the question of the need of building electronic livestock farmers network in Ibadan as well as training farmers in the city on how to use ICTs to meet livestock farm needs.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Agwu AE and UC Uche-Mba. (2008). Use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Researchers, Extension Workers and Farmers in Abia and Enugu States: Implications for a National Agricultural Extension Policy on ICTs. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 12(1): 37-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/jae.v12i1.47025

Bayes A. (2001). Infrastructural and rural development: insights from a Grameen Bank village phone initiative in Bangladesh. Agricultural Economics, Vol. 25, pp. 261-272. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2001.tb00206.x

Burger, T. (2003). LITS: Tracking Botswanaâ€™s Livestock Using Radio Waves. ICT Update Bulletin of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA-ACP) Issue 15. Rome: CTA. Available at http://ictupdate.cta.int/Feature-Articles/LITS-tracking-Botswana-s-livestock-using-radio-waves (accessed on April 6 2015).

Dao, M.Q. (2004). Rural poverty in developing countries: an empirical analysis. Journal of Economic Studies, Vol 31(6):500-508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01443580410569244

Encyclopedia of the Nations. Africa. Available at http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/(accessed on June 4 2014).

Heeks, R. (1999). Information and Communication Technologies, Poverty and Development, Development Informatics Working Paper, available at: http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/publications/wp/di/di_wp05.htm, accessed on 23/03/2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3477770

IWRMI (2005). Urban and peri-urban agriculture in Ibadan, Characteristics, challenges and prospects. Accra: IWRMI.

Jama A; J. Stuth, R. Kaitho and B. Hurissa. (2004). Innovative ICT Approaches for Pastoral Livestock Development: A New Proposal for a Unified Livestock Information System in Ethiopia: Proceedings of Ethiopian Association for Animal Production, August 12-14, 2004.

Jones, G.E. (1997). The History Development and Future of Agricultural Extension. In Swanson, B.F. (ed) Improving Agricultural Extension A Reference Manual. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.

Kiplangâ€™at, J. (1999). An analysis of the opportunities for information technology in improving access, transfer and the use of agricultural information in the rural areas in Kenya, Library Management, Vol. 20, No 2, pp115-127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129910251575

Lio, M. and Liu, M. (2006), ICT and agricultural productivity: evidence from cross-country data, Agricultural Economics, Vol. 34, pp. 221-228. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0864.2006.00120.x

Matotay, E and Furuholt, J. (2013). Farmers Empowerment, Opportunities and Risks: The Role of Mobile Phones in Babati District in Tanzania. In Jakob Svensson and Gudrun Wicander (eds.). Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on M4D Mobile Communication Technology for Development, 10-11 November 2010, Kampala, Uganda.

Mishra, A., & Williams, R. (2006). Internet access and use by farm households. Paper for presentation at the 2006 AAEA annual meeting, Long Beach, CA, July 23-26. Available at from:http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/cgibin/pdf_view.pl?paperid=21468&ftype=.pd. accessed on June 12 2014.

Rogaly, B., Harris-White, B. and Bose, S. (1999) Introduction: Agricultural Growth and Agrarian Change in West Bengal and Bangladesh, in Rogaly, B, Harriss-White and Bose, S (Eds), Sonar Bangla? The Agricultural Growth and Agrarian Change in West Bengal and Bangladesh. India: Sage.

Taragola, N & Gelb, E. (2005). â€˜Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Adoption in Horticulture: A Comparison to the EFITA Baselineâ€™. Available at ttp://departments.agri.huji.ac.il/economics/gelb-hort-14.pdf. Accessed on July 2014).

Tewe, O (1997). World livestock poultry system. Available at http//.poultrysite,com. Accessed 28th November 2011.

Todaro, M.P. (2000) Economic Development. 1st edn. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc.

Uwaifo, V. O. and Uddin, P. S. O. (2009). Technology and Development in Nigeria: The Missing Link. J. Hum. Ecol., 28(2): 107-111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2009.11906225

Van der Westhuizen, J. (2003). ICTs and Livestock Performance. ICT Update Bulletin of the Technical, Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP- EU), Netherlands. Available at http://ictupdate.cta.int/layout/set/print/Regulars/Q-A/Q-A-ICTs-and-livestock-performance. Accessed on April 5 2015).