An Assessment of the utilisation of mobile phones in the agricultural sector by smallholder farmers in Birchenough Bridge ward 33, Buhera South district in Manicaland province Zimbabwe
- Author
- Ndapadzwa, Saliwe
- Title
- An Assessment of the utilisation of mobile phones in the agricultural sector by smallholder farmers in Birchenough Bridge ward 33, Buhera South district in Manicaland province Zimbabwe
- Abstract
- This study assess the utilisation of mobile phones in the agriculture sector by smallholder farmers in Birchenough Bridge Ward 33, Buhera South, Zimbabwe. Descriptive statistics were used to establish mobile phone platforms used by smallholder farmers. Likert scale examines the frequency of mobile phone use in agriculture and binary logistic regression determines factors influencing mobile phone use in agriculture. Data was collected from 60 respondents using a structured questionnaire. The survey data shows that 58.3 % of the respondents use mobile phones in agriculture and 41.7% never used mobile phones in agriculture. The study found that many smallholder farmers use WhatsApp and they use it more frequently than other mobile apps in agriculture however other apps were never used for example Esoko, Kurima Mari, and Seedney. # Kashagi is a mobile banking platform used by many respondents in the study and they use it more frequently than other platforms such as CBZ and Steward Bank, respondents showed that they had never used First Capital Bank to access mobile banking services. Econet is the mobile network used by many respondents in the study and they use it more frequently than other mobile networks like Telecel and Netone. Many respondents use Ecocash, Onemoney, and Telecash in agriculture. Ecocash is the most frequent use by respondents in agriculture. The relationship between mobile phone use and factors influencing mobile phone use on age, education level, gender, marital status, and household head was examined. Results show that the independent variables fit well in the model with a Chi-square of 5.759 and sig of 0.674. Age, marital status, and educational level were statistically significant factors affecting mobile phone use in agriculture. The results showed a moderate use of mobile phones, however, there is a need for strategies to improve the use of mobile phones in agriculture. The study recommends increasing user support, by training farmers on how to use mobile phones in agriculture and using platforms that are more flexible for farmers for example WhatsApp. The government should partner with telecommunication network providers to ensure the network is available and reduce bundle prices to promote agriculture through mobile phone use in Zimbabwe.
- Date
- June 2024
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Smallholder farmers
-
Agricultural sector
-
Mobile phones
- Supervisor
- Mr. E. Zivenge
- Media
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Ndapadzwa - AEM.pdf