Smallholder farmers' use of mobile phone services in central Kenya

Abstract

Information and services delivered through mobile phones, 'm-services', have transformative potential to provide rural African farmers with important agro-meteorological information. However, a greater understanding is needed regarding the types of m-services available to farmers, how farmers access that information, and possible factors affecting m-service use. With a study of smallholder farming communities in central Kenya, we examine factors affecting the likelihood of Kenyan farmers' adoption of m-services specifically related to agriculture and livestock information, buying and selling products, and alerts about agricultural or livestock activities. According to a survey of 577 farming households, 98% of respondents own a mobile phone. Approximately 25% use it to access information about agriculture and livestock, 23% access information about buying and selling products, and 18% receive alerts. Personal smartphone ownership increases the likelihood of m-services use (p < .001), as does membership in farmer organizations (p < .001). We find that age and income are not significantly related to m-service use, and we discuss this result in terms of intersections between smartphone ownership, gender, and education. Consistent with prior qualitative research, our quantitative results further support the need for m-services providers to design for basic or feature phone users for improved dissemination of agro-meteorological information. ARTICLE HISTORY

Mobile-based advisory services for sustainable agriculture: Assessing farmers’ information behavior

“…Consequently, governments in developing countries should pay attention and invest in supporting non-formal education by strengthening advisory services, adult literacy classes, and enhancing the quality of formal schooling (Kassem et al, 2019). The findings are in accordance with the results of Krell et al (2020), who reported that 25% of Kenyan farmers use mobile phone advisory services. Hence, reaching the "low" information behavior farmers requires different delivery and content strategies in agricultural advisory programs (Babu et al, 2011).…”

Monitoring of Suspended Sediments in a Tropical Forested Landscape With Citizen Science

“…To minimize barriers for participation we kept the method of sending data as simple as possible. As mobile phone coverage and usage become a more established method of communication in East Africa (Krell et al, 2020), we chose the text message service since it is easy to use, user-friendly, stable, and inexpensive (Weeser et al, 2018). Delivery of feedback is a fundamental element of a successful citizen science program (Brouwer et al, 2018).…”

Understanding the Role of User Needs and Perceptions Related to Sub-Seasonal and Seasonal Forecasts on Farmers' Decisions in Kenya: A Systematic Review

“…Lack of financial support to farmers in Laikipia and Meru limited their ability to enhance their livestock production and adoption of technology, e.g., not able to buy equipment and inability to access WCI (Schäfer et al, 2008). Further, Krell et al (2020) found that while use of smartphones by women was a key barrier to communication and dissemination of climate information, it is the high cost of ownership and use that made it difficult to use in Laikipia and Meru Counties. Whereas Laikipia and other semiarid areas have challenges in access of WCI, uncertainty in various types of climate information is also a major problem and only few farmers in Kenya and the region pay attention to uncertainty in their decision-making, opting to ignore (Luseno et al, 2003;Silvestri et al, 2012;Apgar et al, 2017).…”

“…Percy (2013) identifies low adaptive capacity and inability to adopt new farming methods to address impacts of erratic weather patterns as other issues affecting farmers in Meru County, although they have better knowledge of accessing inputs and doing business. Ironically, Krell et al (2020) found that access to WCI is shown to be a main barrier to adaptation to climate risks in Meru, although the cost of usage of technologies such as mobile phones poses a constraint to usage due to lack of credit to access seasonal and sub-seasonal forecasts. Similarly, the use of mobile agriculture/livestock services was seen as a key barrier to use of WCI by women than men.…”