Abstract

Market access is increasingly relying on Information and communications technologies (ICTs) like telephony and internet that are only adopted haphazardly. Despite need for ICTs in Market Information Services (MIS), ICT usage in Africa is low. Little is known about ICTs for use in MIS including, technology, its potential users and characteristics of both entities. Closing such gaps was justified. The study determined ICT components used and factors influencing adoption and choice of components. Stratified random sampling was used to collect data using structured questionnaires from 150 farmers and 50 traders and analysed using STATA. Radio was most used old ICT whereas mobile phones were most used new ICT. Expensive handsets, poverty, poor power supply, lack of expertise and poor network coverage limited ICT use. Farmers with knowledge of ICT groups and those thinking that ICTs benefited agriculture were more likely adopters of ICT-based MIS. Family size and land farmed influenced farmers’ adoption, whereas age, trading experience, family size and monthly expenses influenced traders’ adoption. Farmers and traders who majorly used ICTs for making profit were more likely to use mobile phone whereas those who stayed further from towns were less likely to use the component.

Key words: Information and communications technologies (ICTs), smallholder farmers, adoption, determinants, market information services, logit model, traders.