Mobile phone adoption for marketing Information by Smallholder food crop farmers in Assin North District of Ghana.

Abstract

The study investigated the determinants that enhance the adoption of mobile phones for marketing information by smallholder food crop farmers in the Assin North District of Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 400 farmers from a total population of 69,678 food crop smallholder farmers in the Assin North District of Ghana. The study adopted cross sectional survey design. Data was collected using structured interview guide. Percentages, frequencies, mean, standard deviations, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, and binary logistic regression model were applied to analyse the data. The study concluded that younger smallholder food crop farmers who are male with higher number of years in schooling and are active participant of Farmer Based Organisations (FBOs) have a greater tendency to adopt mobile phones for marketing information. Also, smallholder food crop farmers who have higher access to extension services, lower farm experience, higher annual income and larger farm size have a greater tendency to adopt mobile phones for marketing information, which encouraged timely and accurate marketing information and improves yield and sales of output. Difficulties in the use of the internet was the most limiting constraint in the use of mobile phones to access marketing information. The study recommends that mobile phones can be used in conjunction with other AMITs, but they are not a complete substitute. Also, through stakeholders (donor agencies, policy makers, and district Ministry of Food and Agriculture department) extension officers and FBOs can be empowered to create an enabling environment to attract especially female smallholder food crop farmers. Intensive education on the usage of the internet is needed to make smallholder food crop farmers’ internet usage friendly. Also, government and internet service providers may prioritize infrastructure development to ensure reliable and high speed internet connectivity reaches small holder food crop farmers. This may be done by investing in technology like fibre optic or satellite internet.