Version 1
: Received: 9 March 2020 / Approved: 10 March 2020 / Online: 10 March 2020 (10:29:14 CET)
How to cite:
Nwafor, C. An Integrated Conceptual Framework for ICT-based Market Information Source Adoption among Smallholder Farmers. Preprints2020, 2020030163. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0163.v1
Nwafor, C. An Integrated Conceptual Framework for ICT-based Market Information Source Adoption among Smallholder Farmers. Preprints 2020, 2020030163. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0163.v1
Nwafor, C. An Integrated Conceptual Framework for ICT-based Market Information Source Adoption among Smallholder Farmers. Preprints2020, 2020030163. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0163.v1
APA Style
Nwafor, C. (2020). An Integrated Conceptual Framework for ICT-based Market Information Source Adoption among Smallholder Farmers. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0163.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Nwafor, C. 2020 "An Integrated Conceptual Framework for ICT-based Market Information Source Adoption among Smallholder Farmers" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0163.v1
Abstract
The importance of ICTs for dissemination of information to farmers has been verified by extension practitioners, information and communication scholars, policy makers and development agencies. Information related to new seed varieties, production technologies, livestock breeds, vaccines, including weed and pest control, as well as relevant market information is constantly required by smallholder farmers. The identification of specific attributes among smallholder farmers which contributes to their adoption of a proposed ICT-based information source provides an important tool for developing interventions which address the information needs of farmers. Using a literature survey methodology, pertinent studies related to adoption of ICTs, farmers’ information source usage and relevant frameworks were identified, including applicable theories and models in technology adoption and information behaviour. In the proposed framework, the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder farmers were posited as key variables influencing smallholder farmers, within a farming system, to adopt ICT-based information sources. The framework contributes to discern the prospects of adopting ICT-based information sources by individual farmers within a farming system, and may also envisage other related welfare outcomes and market participation pathways among smallholder farmers. The review also addresses the paucity of conceptual discourse, while contributing to a growing pool of research on ICT in African agriculture.
Keywords
information source; smallholder farmers; ICTs; adoption; conceptual framework; sub-Sahara Africa
Subject
Computer Science and Mathematics, Information Systems
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
