Impact of Mobile Phones on Rural Livelihood Assests in rural Nigeria: A Case Study of Ovia North East Local Government Area

Abstract

Many developing country governments and development agencies are focusing on extending ICT infrastructure into rural areas as they seek to encourage growth, alleviate poverty and overcome the perceived “digital divide. However, a critical review of literature reveals contrasting findings by scholars on the impact of mobile phones on rural livelihoods and poverty reduction. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this debate by examining the impact of mobile telephones usage on the livelihood assets of rural communities in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted for the study and the main instrument of data collection was a questionnaire. Respondents are rural household heads. Results indicate that mobiles usage have significant impact on social and human capital livelihood assets of rural households. The paper calls for capacity building and exposure of rural households to opportunities offer by the usage of mobile phones.

Keywords: Impact, Mobile Phones, Rural Livelihoods, Assets, Nigeria