The Influence of Perceived Innovation Characteristics on Small-scale Commercial Farmers’ Perception of the Adoption of Mobile Applications in Makonde District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study aims to examine the influence of perceived innovation characteristics on small-scale commercial farmers’ perception of the adoption of mobile applications in Makonde District, Zimbabwe. The study adopted the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) to understand the important concepts of the adoption of mobile applications to inform the analysis of the results. To collect data, the study used a bounded case study. The study employed a purposive sampling technique to select the study area and forty-eight small-scale commercial farmers for focus group discussions. Further, the study adopted snowball sampling to select twelve key informants, that is, lead farmers, agricultural extension officers, mobile applications developers, agricultural researchers and network providers referred by agricultural extension personnel for in-depth interviews. The study employed thematic analysis to analyze data into codes, themes and sub-themes. The research demonstrates that the importance of each perceived innovation characteristic in the adoption process of mobile applications for improved small-scale commercial agriculture is different. Relative advantage and observability were the most important characteristics of the adoption of mobile applications for improved small-scale commercial agriculture. The research highlighted that small-scale commercial farmers are more likely to embrace mobile phone applications that possess a high relative advantage, are less complex, highly compatible, are trial-able and exhibit visibility of results. The study consolidates and presents the perceived innovation characteristics, offering researchers valuable insights into the adoption patterns of mobile applications among small-scale commercial agriculture. The research findings have implications for policy-makers and mobile application developers