Access to Credit and Its Relationship with Information and Communication Technology Tools’ Adoption in Agricultural Extension among Peasants in Rangwe Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Access to agricultural credit is one of the key factors that boost the adoption of technologies to improve agricultural production. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools have been referred to as essential channels in the dissemination of agricultural extension information. However, it has been observed that the majority of peasants were not using them to access the information. The aim of this study was to delineate the level of agricultural credit access, sources of the credit, amount of the credit accessed, and the correlation between access to the credit and the use of ICT tools in the extension services among peasants. A correlation research design was utilized in this study at Rangwe Sub-County, Kenya. Data were collected with the help of pretested structured questionnaire from 106 peasants who grow cassava in the Sub-County. The data obtained were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation and descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 25. Descriptive results revealed that 68% of the peasants interviewed had no access to the credit, while 32% had access. The majority (70%) of those who had the access received it from Saving and Credit Co-Operative (SACCOs). The majority (68%) received the lowest amount of credit. Spearman’s correlation revealed that there was a moderate, positive correlation between access to credit and the use of the ICT tools. The correlation was statistically significant at 1% level of significance (R = +.646**, P = .000, R2 =0.417). Access to credit appears to provide a positive and moderate correlation with the use of the ICT tools as it predicts 42% of the use of the tools in cassava production. The positive correlation coefficient indicates that an increase in access to agricultural credits among the peasants translates to an increase in the adoption of ICT tools in agricultural extension.