Assessment Of Information And Communication Tools (Icts) Used In The Diffusion Of Agricultural Innovations: A Case Study Of Cassava Production In Msambweni, Kwale County, Kenya
Abstract
In the coastal lowlands of Kenya, cassava is the second most important staple crop after maize.
However, its productivity in the region is low due to various reasons which include the use of
traditional low yielding varieties by farmers. The high perishability of the roots also limits the
duration of handling the unprocessed root. To mitigate against the low productivity of the crop,
there has been increased promotion of cassava production by the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock and Fisheries through the introduction of improved high yielding and disease resistant
varieties in the country. However, despite these interventions, there is lack of adequate extension
services to offer timely information to farmers using information and communication tools
(ICTs) available to them. Since information dissemination is crucial in enhancing and developing
the adaptive capacities of all economies especially in rural areas to adopt new agricultural
concepts for improved productivity, the use of ICTs can enhance the provision of extension
services to farmers. This study was carried out to assess the Information and Communication
Tools (ICTs) used in the diffusion of agricultural innovations and focused on cassava production
in Msambweni sub-county of Kwale county. It was guided by four research objectives; to
identify information sources available; to determine the ICTs available to the farmers; to
establish the influence of farmers’ socio-economic characteristics on the choice of ICTs and to
evaluate the influence of ICTs on adoption of cassava farming. The study targeted a population
of 3800 farmers in the sub-county involved in cassava production. Multistage sampling
technique was applied to select 133 respondents from three sub-locations in three wards namely
Kikoneni in Pogwe ward, Lungalunga in Vanga ward and Malambe in Nzombo ward. Semistructured pre-tested questionnaires were administered to the respondents through face-to-face
interviews. Data collected was entered into MS Excel sheet and analysed using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences program and was presented using frequencies and percentage tables;
and pie charts. Chi-square tests and correlation analysis were used to test the hypotheses and the
association of the variables. The tests revealed that, significant relationships exist between the
socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and ICTs use with a strong correlation; (r = 0.863,
p-value = 0.011, r2 = 0.745). Sources of information and use of ICTs had a strong correlation; (r
= 0.771, p-value = 0.021, r2 = 0.594). Availability of information and ICTs use among the
farmers in the study had a strong correlation; (r = 0.926, p-value = 0.003, r2 = 0.857). Other
results indicated that, radio was the most widely used ICT by the farmers studied (69.9%)
followed by mobile phones (33.1%) and television (26.3%). However, internet was found to be
used by a negligent number of farmers (2.3%). Radio was mainly used due to its availability to
the farmers as every farmer had a radio. Internet was rarely used due to inadequate electricity
connectivity and limited number of computers in the study area. In conclusion, it is clear that
there is significant influence of the ICTs used in information dissemination and the adoption of
innovative methods of cassava farming. It is recommended that to enhance agricultural
information transmission to the farmers, there should be effective use and application of the
already available channels which are the radio, mobile phones and television. There is also need
for the extension agents to be equipped with skills and internet facilities to enable them source
and transfer agricultural information to farmers in the appropriate form and at the right time.
Publisher
University of Nairobi