Constraints to Effective Use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Small-scale Farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria

The study was carried out in Anambra State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of one hundred and eight (108) small-scale farmers. Percentage, mean score, standard deviation and factor analysis were used for data analysis. The duration of the study was June 2009 and March, 2010. Results of the study indicated that the major constraints to effective use of ICTs by small- scale farmers were cost of mobile phones, computer, television, etc (M= 2.67); no electricity to charge phones (M= 2.65); poor network coverage for mobile phones, television and Internet services (M= 2.51); inability to pay service charge for Internet services (M= 2.36); high cost of air-time for mobile phones (M= 2.36); non-durability of electronic devices (M= 2.33), among others. The study recommends that efforts are highly needed by the government to invest in rural ICT infrastructure, training and development; this will necessitate effective use of ICTs by the end users. [E. N. Ajani. Mohammed et al. Constraints to Effective Use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Small-scale Farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria. International Journal of Agricultural Science, Research and Technology, 2012; 2(3):117-122].