Assessment of Mobile Phone Usage for Agricultural Information Sharing Among Rural Farmers in Agricultural Zone One, Rivers State

Abstract

This study assessed mobile phone usage for agricultural information sharing among rural farmers in agricultural zone one of Rivers State. One hundred (100) respondents were selected through the use of a two-stage sampling procedure. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire and analysed with mean, frequency counts, percentages and Binary Logit regression analysis. All (100%) of the respondents owned mobile phones and agreed that they use mobile phones to share agricultural information. The majority of the respondents (84%) considered agricultural information shared through mobile phones to be reliable, while 84% had access to the internet but rarely had a power supply (76%). The major mobile phone-based agriculture information sources used by the respondents were voice calls (100%), phone radio (100%) and text messages (100%) while phone radio (= 3.90) and text messages (= 3.92) were the most frequently used. Information on pest management (= 3.67) and Indigenous knowledge (= 3.00) were the main agricultural information shared through mobile phones. Mobile phones are key to information sharing among rural farmers. Improved power supply by responsible agencies in local communities to support mobile phone use for agricultural information sharing among rural farmers.