The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage to Accessing Market Information by Smallholder Farmers, in Lari Constituency, Kenya

Abstract

Mobile phones are increasingly becoming one of the primary sources of agricultural market information. Farmers, agricultural programs, agricultural institutions, and non-governmental institutions utilize mobile phones and internet platforms to disseminate agricultural market information. The study’s main objective was to investigate the impact of mobile phone usage on accessing market information by smallholder farmers regarding farmers in Lari constituency, Kenya. The specific objectives were to find out how phone calls influences access to market information by smallholder farmers in Lari Constituency Kenya, determine how text messaging influences access to market information by smallholder farmers in Lari Constituency Kenya, investigate how the internet influences access to market information by smallholder farmers in Lari Constituency Kenya, and to determine how social media influences access to market information by smallholder farmers in Lari constituency Kenya. The research design used was a descriptive survey to understand more about the phenomena. The qualitative method used was interviews with key informants. Purposive sampling was used to arrive at a sample of farmers in the study area. Descriptive statistics were employed in data analysis. From the research, it can be deduced that mobile phones are highly used among most farmers in the study area to fulfill their needs for accessing market information. The study established that farmers in the study area source for market information from various avenues, including phone calls, text messaging, and the internet. This study recommends that marketing centers can be established in Lari constituency, along with infrastructure for farmers to understand the risks associated with market dynamics and mobile phone service providers also to develop more affordable yet practical and easy to use handsets along with easy to use internet platforms which is cheap and has effective data plans for social media access.