Factors affecting the use of ICTs on agricultural input information by farmers in developing countries

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a key role in the dissemination of information on agricultural inputs for more access to and use of agricultural input information. Farmers have been exposed to diverse ICTs channels access and use of agricultural input information in developing countries. Though efforts have been made to apply ICTs in the agricultural input information sector, the contribution does not clearly reflect how ICTs influence access and use of agricultural input information by farmers. It is therefore imperative for an investigation to be taken to identify the factors affecting the use of ICTs on agricultural input information in developing countries. In this paper, we inform our audience on the factors affecting the use of ICTs on agricultural input information by reviewing ICTs and published articles on ICTs on agricultural input information. We use grounded theory to synthetize the status of the use of ICTs on agricultural input information access and factors supporting or not supporting the use and adoption. It is observed that farmer’s perception such as the relative advantage, compatibility, simplicity, observability and social influence of ICTs and information quality are positively affecting the use of ICTs on agricultural input information in developing countries while the ICTs’ high service cost is negatively affecting their use.