The impact of mobile phone technology on agricultural information services delivery in the northern region of Ghana

B.Sc. Emmanuel Quintin-Cofie

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a key role in fostering agricultural information delivery to farmers, hence improving productivity. The research therefore studied the factors that are likely to influence farmers decision to subscribe to mobile phone based weather and market information service. The study further examined the challenges and the perception of farmers using weather and market information services via mobile phone. The study was conducted in 4 communities namely; Yong, Tibale, Chalam and Bihinaa-Yili within the Savelugu-Nanton district in the Northern Region of Ghana. The communities and respondents were selected using purposive sampling. Respondents were enumerated using semi-structured questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using Binary logit model, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing and qualitative analysis. Findings from the study showed that gender of the farmer, income level and farmers membership in a FBO played a significant role in farmers’ decision to subscribe to a mobile phone based weather and market information service. The study revealed that male farmers were more likely to subscribe to mobile extension services. In addition, farmers who belonged to a FBO were more likely to adopt extension services via mobile phone. On the other hand, there was a lower probability for farmers with increasing income due to off-farm activities to subscribe to mobile agricultural information. In examining farmers perception, majority of farmers agreed and strongly agreed that information from mobile weather and market service providers was useful, reliable and satisfactory. The use of descriptive statistics coupled with the Kendall’s Concordance Coefficient W non-parametric test statistics helped to identify and rank farmers sources of agricultural information as radio, agricultural extension agents, mobile extension services, TV and farmer to farmer interactions respectively. Farmers identified poor network coverage, cost of handling mobile phone, lack of electricity to charge phones, difficulty in reading SMS messages due to illiteracy, inaccurate weather forecast and inaccurate market prices as the main challenges impeding their access and use of mobile phone weather and market information.

Keywords

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), Weather and Market Information, Mobile Phone, Farmers’ Club, Northern Region of Ghana

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 2. 5. 2019

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Ing. Alexander Kandakov, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme / field:
Tropical Agriculture / International Development and Agricultural Economics