Abstract
The study explored the contribution of information and communication technology (ICT)-based information sources to market participation among smallholder livestock farmers. Use of ICTs is considered paramount for providing smallholder farmers with required market information, and also to reduce market asymmetries. A double hurdle regression was utilized to analyze data collected from 150 smallholder livestock farmers in the study area. The results show that while use of ICT-based market information sources significantly influenced market participation, the effect of using ICT-based information sources on the intensity of market participation was not significant. Other variables shown to influence both market participation and the intensity of market participation were age, additional income and membership of farmer cooperatives. This suggests the need to consider other associated factors in the application and design of interventions that utilize ICT-based information sources to achieve market engagement among smallholders.
Highlights
It has been widely reported that information and communication technologies (ICTs) assist in disseminating information to farmers
Proponents of ICT-enabled market information sources envisage ubiquitous information systems that are capable of widespread distribution of market information and result in increased accessibility and the participation of smallholder farmers in markets
The key characteristics of smallholder livestock farmers that were found to be significantly associated with their market participation include age, an additional income, membership of a cooperative, as well as the use of ICT-based sources, as determined by results from the first hurdle
Summary
It has been widely reported that information and communication technologies (ICTs) assist in disseminating information to farmers This indicates that smallholder farmer’s need for relevant and timely market information can be met using ICT-based information sources [1,2]. This has resulted in the development of platforms that use ICTs for disseminating market information to farmers in many African countries. Proponents of ICT-enabled market information sources envisage ubiquitous information systems that are capable of widespread distribution of market information and result in increased accessibility and the participation of smallholder farmers in markets. The currently available studies have mostly examined how ICTs contribute to Agriculture 2020, 10, 44; doi:10.3390/agriculture10020044 www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture
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