Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study
This article provides findings from a baseline study on mobile phone use by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study investigated use of mobile phones by 58 farming households in a village in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province. Via a survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion, the study found tha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The African Journal of Information and Communication
2019
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/26171 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/3487 |
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| author | Musungwini, Samuel |
| author_facet | Musungwini, Samuel |
| author_sort | Musungwini, Samuel |
| collection | DSpace |
| description | This article provides findings from a baseline study on mobile phone use by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study investigated use of mobile phones by 58 farming households in a village in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province. Via a survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion, the study found that 100% of the surveyed households identified “asymmetry of information” as a challenge they face in their agricultural activities, and 90% cited “absence of market information” as a challenge. Yet at the same time, the study found low levels of household mobile phone usage, with only 50% of households were found to be using mobile telephony in support of a farming activity. The article concludes with a recommendation for how to close this apparent gap between the smallholder farmers’ felt need for increased agricultural information and, at the same time, their lack of use of mobile telephony to access such information. |
| format | Article |
| id | ir-11408-3487 |
| institution | My University |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | The African Journal of Information and Communication |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ir-11408-34872022-06-27T13:49:06Z Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study Musungwini, Samuel Mobile technologies Information and communication technology Smallholder farmers This article provides findings from a baseline study on mobile phone use by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study investigated use of mobile phones by 58 farming households in a village in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province. Via a survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion, the study found that 100% of the surveyed households identified “asymmetry of information” as a challenge they face in their agricultural activities, and 90% cited “absence of market information” as a challenge. Yet at the same time, the study found low levels of household mobile phone usage, with only 50% of households were found to be using mobile telephony in support of a farming activity. The article concludes with a recommendation for how to close this apparent gap between the smallholder farmers’ felt need for increased agricultural information and, at the same time, their lack of use of mobile telephony to access such information. 2019-03-27T09:00:01Z 2019-03-27T09:00:01Z 2018 Article https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/26171 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/3487 en The African Journal of Information and Communication;Vol. 22; p: 29-52 open The African Journal of Information and Communication |
| spellingShingle | Mobile technologies Information and communication technology Smallholder farmers Musungwini, Samuel Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| title | Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| title_full | Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| title_fullStr | Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| title_short | Mobile phone use by Zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| title_sort | mobile phone use by zimbabwean smallholder farmers: a baseline study |
| topic | Mobile technologies Information and communication technology Smallholder farmers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/26171 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/3487 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT musungwinisamuel mobilephoneusebyzimbabweansmallholderfarmersabaselinestudy |