Abstract

Keywords

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ Literature review

۳٫ Methods and data sources

۴٫ Data analysis and discussions

۵٫ Conclusion and recommendations

Declaration of Competing Interest

References

Abstract

In recent years, the agricultural industry has been experiencing an ever-increasing application of information and communication technologies globally. This new revolution has been touted to impact efficiency and productivity in the agricultural extension services within the agriculture sector. Notwithstanding this, empirical research need to be carried out amongst its users in the sector to ascertain these assertions. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) among agricultural extension workers and its implications on extension service delivery. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 153 field extension workers, and a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data obtained were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 22. The study revealed that agricultural extension officers use ICT for personal communication, but not mainly for extension activities. It was recommended that the agricultural extension services provide intensive ICT training for the agricultural extension workers to enhance ICT incorporation into extension advisory service.

۱٫ Introduction

The application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across different sectors of the global economy has become a game changer in boosting work efficiency and productivity. The agriculture sector in the global economy is one of the industries experiencing tremendous ICT application in all spheres of its operations. Daum (2020) observed that in recent years, ICTs had become one of the main driving tools used by farmers to manage the essential factors of production (land, labour, capital, and soil) in agriculture. ICT applications have the potential to identify and find solutions to some of the numerous problems faced in the field of agriculture, which includes prolonged droughts, pest and disease outbreaks, seasonality and spatial dispersion of farming; high transaction costs and information asymmetry (Anh et al., 2019). ICT application along the agricultural value chain (from farm to fork) could offer the opportunities for actors within the chain to obtain accurate, timely, and relevant information; which will not only contribute to profitability but also enhance food security, sustainable and remunerative agriculture (Purnomo & Lee, 2010). ICT also has the potential to resolve the challenges faced by governments, farmers, and other land users in valuation, registration, and taxation of land. For instance, in India, the digitalization of land administrative activities saved farmers close to 1.32 million working days of man-hours and about 806 million Rupees in bribe due to the improved system, which reduced corruption levels (Daum, 2020). The application of ICT in agricultural activities across the globe is not only gaining popularity but also transforming the sector’s businesses.

The agriculture sector has experienced a new technological revolution for the past ten years. Compared to a decade earlier, this new technological revolution, has the potentials to respond to farmers’ needs accurately and swiftly. Wolfert et al. (2017) observed that technological advancement in the area of digital platforms, such as e-commerce, agro-advisory apps, big data, computational power, and satellite systems like remote sensing, among others, quicken communication and information sharing among farmers in recent years. Mobile phones that have internet connectivity (smartphones) are the most widely used ICT devices across the globe (O’Dea, 2020). Research published by Statista (2020), showed that the number of smartphone users around the world were 3.2 billion in 2019, and forecasted that this figure could reach 3.8 billion by 2021.