FACTORS AFFECTING THE APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF NEPAL

Abstract

Scaling-up of modern ICT tools produces an avenue to use ICT in the dissemination of agriculture information. To successfully apply ICT-based information for the prime development of sustainable agriculture, understanding the factors affecting the use of ICT in agriculture information is valuable. This study tried to analyze the socio-economic factors that influence the application of ICTs amongst farmers of the Rupandehi district of Nepal. Altogether, three villages, which are also declared and enlisted under smart villages by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Technology, and Land Management of Lumbini province, were purposely selected for this study. Data were collected from randomly selected 145 respondents from Devdaha, Omsatiya and Tilotama villages, of which 95 were ICT user farmers and 50 of them were non-users of ICT. A binary probit model was used for its statistical analysis. Social, economic, and institutional factors were explored as the major factors affecting the use of ICT among farmers in the delineated study area. Farm size, sex, and income were explored as positive and significant factors that influence the use of ICT in agriculture. The governmental policies including ICT tools in extension methodologies were found at an inadequate level. Moreover, the present ICT tools assessed inappropriate in the existing market that didn't address the real needs of farmers were the major constraints of using ICT tools in agriculture in the study area. Factors and reasons explored through this study should be internalized by concerned stakeholders as input while forming their policy or implanting ICT-related activities in forthcoming technological generations.