No abstract

Access to agricultural credit is one of the key factors that boost the adoption of technologies to improve agricultural production. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools have been referred to as essential channels in the dissemination of agricultural extension information. However, it has been observed that the majority of peasants were not using them to access the information. The aim of this study was to delineate the level of agricultural credit access, sources of the credit, amount of the credit accessed, and the correlation between access to the credit and the use of ICT tools in the extension services among peasants. A correlation research design was utilized in this study at Rangwe Sub-County, Kenya. Data were collected with the help of pretested structured questionnaire from 106 peasants who grow cassava in the Sub-County. The data obtained were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation and descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 25. Descriptive results revealed that 68% of the peasants interviewed had no access to the credit, while 32% had access. The majority (70%) of those who had the access received it from Saving and Credit Co-Operative (SACCOs). The majority (68%) received the lowest amount of credit. Spearman’s correlation revealed that there was a moderate, positive correlation between access to credit and the use of the ICT tools. The correlation was statistically significant at 1% level of significance (R = +.646**, P = .000, R2 =0.417). Access to credit appears to provide a positive and moderate correlation with the use of the ICT tools as it predicts 42% of the use of the tools in cassava production. The positive correlation coefficient indicates that an increase in access to agricultural credits among the peasants translates to an increase in the adoption of ICT tools in agricultural extension.

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in Agricultural extension in Kenya is key to providing farm families with appropriate technical information and helping them develop skills for improved resource use in their agricultural activities to improve the efficiency of their value chains. The latent perk of ICT tools in the dissemination of agricultural information is not well exploited. Studies to assess the determinants of ICT tools adoption among smallholder cassava farmers in Kenya are limited. The aim of this study was to describe the level of access to training on ICT tools, the level of ICT tools’ adoption, and to determine the correlation between access to training and the use of ICT tools among the Small Holder Farmers (SHFs). A correlation research design was employed in this study at Rangwe Sub-County. The study used pretested structured questionnaire to collect data from 106 SHFs who grow cassava in the Sub-County. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science Version 25 to run Spearman’s correlation and descriptive statistics. From the results 36% of the respondents had used ICT tools in agricultural extension; only 37% had access to ICT training and a majority had received training once from a private extension system. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that a correlation between access to training and the use of ICT tools among the SHFs was statistically significant at a 1% level of significance (R = +.776**, P = .000, R2 =0.602). Training on ICT tools explained about 60% of the use of the tools among the SHFs. An increase in access to the training enhances the use of ICT tools in agricultural extension. The availability of training centers was recommended to increase the use of ICT tools.

Aims: This study sought to determine selected demographic characteristics, the extent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools’ usage, opportunities in ICT, challenges in the use, strategies to improve the use, and the correlation between the selected demographic factors and ICT tools’ usage among peasants who produce cassava in Rangwe Sub-County, Kenya. Study Design: A correlation research design was used in this study conducted at Rangwe Sub-County, Kenya from 8th December 2021 to 14th January 2022. Methodology: The study gathered data with the aid of pretested structured questionnaire from 106 Cassava Peasants (CPs) who used or not used ICT tools in agricultural extension. Results: The response rate achieved was 100%. The majority of the CPs were female (62%), middle-aged (36-50 years), attained primary education (52%), and earned the lowest average annual income (X ≤ KES160, 000). The majority of ICT tools users in extension were males, elite, higher-income earners, and youths. The largest percentage of ICT tools users mentioned, ICT tools availability as one of the opportunities in ICT, expensiveness as the main challenge in the use, ICT services subsidies as one of the improvement strategies. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that a correlation between the selected demographic factors and ICT tools’ usage was statistically significant at a 1% level of significance (P=.000). Conclusion: Adoption of ICT tools in agricultural extension services is directly proportional to income, gender equality, and education, while it is inversely proportional to age. The provision of supporting policies for the selected demographic factors, availability of training centers, and subsidized credit interest rate would increase ICT tools usage in extension.