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Mobile Phone Usage for Accessing Agricultural Information in Southern Ethiopia |
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| Authors: | Deribe Kaske Zebedayo Samwel Kayanda Mvena Alfred Said Sife |
| Affiliation: | 1. Hawassa University College of Agriculture, School of Environment, Gender, and Development Studies, Hawassa, Ethiopiadkaske@gmail.com;3. Sokoine University of Agriculture, Agricultural Extension and Community Development, Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania;4. Sokoine University of Agriculture, Sokoine National Agricultural Library, Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania |
| Abstract: | This study was conducted in Ethiopia to determine the use of mobile phones in agriculture. The study included 320 household heads who owned mobile phones. Data were collected using an interview schedule. The results revealed that the majority (90.6%) of household heads made phone calls for agricultural purposes. Over three quarters (85.9%) of the household heads received phone calls related to agriculture. Short message service (SMS) was poorly used. It is concluded that mobile phones are playing an important role as an informational medium. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia needs to develop a mobile-based agricultural information dissemination system to enhance information delivery to rural farming households. |
| Keywords: | agriculture agricultural information Ethiopia mobile phone households |