ABSTRACT

The study investigated effect of usage of information communication technology information on production activities among rural farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to describe socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area, determine type of agricultural information obtained by farmers through ICTs, ascertain the level of access to ICT by farmers, determine the level of farmers’ use of ICTs, ascertain the role of information obtained from ICTs in improving production practices in the study area, determine the level of food production status and identify problems associated with ICTs usage in the study area. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed in selecting 221 respondents. Data for this study were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire and interview schedule. Data for this study were analyzed using both descriptive, (mean, frequency and percentages) and inferential statistics. The result revealed that the information obtained from ICT facilities were methods of disease prevention and control (91.0%), use of agro-chemicals (86.9%), pest control (86.0%), storage of produce (76.6%), best planting techniques (77.4%), harvesting (77.4%), record keeping (75.6%), best processing methods (71.5%), new varieties of seeds (71.1%), breeds of animal (62.0%), land preparation (61.5%) and weeding (61.1%) among others. The study revealed that there was a low access to ICTs (=1.63), and low usage of ICTs in the study area (=1.43). The results revealed about 62.9% of the respondents were food secured while 37.1% were food insecure. The result on role of ICTs usage on improvement of knowledge of farmers on food production indicated that soil management had a mean score of 3.10, water management (x = 2.12), cropping system (x = 2.49), fertilization (x = 2.83), planting/sowing (x= 3.16), crop maintenance (x = 2.69), protection management (x = 2.91), harvesting (x = 3.04), storage and preservation (x = 2.70) while weed management also had a mean score of 2.40 The result revealed that lack of electricity supply (100.0%), high cost of ICTs (98.2%), lack of network coverage (97.2%), inadequate ICT facilities (88.7%), not capable of manipulating some ICT facilities (83.7%), lack of spare parts of ICTs facilities (70.6%), inadequate extension contact (68.8%), lack of supportive government policies on ICTs (67.9%), lack of technical knowhow (64.5%) among others were the problems associated with ICT usage in the study area. The result on the simple linear regression estimate showed that the coefficient of ICTs usage was statistically significant at 5% probability level and positively related to food production. The study concluded that there is a positive relationship between use of information and communication technologies and food production activities among rural farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study therefore, recommends extension agents and other stakeholders should focus more on using ICTs in disseminating agricultural information to farmers.