CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Farmers make many decisions in each production season: what to plant, which variety to use, when to plant, how much fertiliser to apply, how to control pests and when and where to sell. Good decisions depend on timely and reliable information. In much of rural Nigeria this information has traditionally come from extension agents, fellow farmers and radio, but extension agents are few in relation to the number of farmers, and most of them still depend heavily on traditional means of communication (Orikpe & Orikpe, 2013).

The rapid spread of mobile phones in developing countries has created a new channel for agricultural information. Aker and Mbiti (2010) examined the growth of mobile phone technology in sub-Saharan Africa and concluded that coverage and adoption have had positive impacts on agricultural and labour market efficiency and welfare in certain countries, although empirical evidence is still limited and phones cannot be a silver bullet for development. Aker (2011) reviewed programmes that use information and communication technology (ICT) for agricultural extension, grouped by mechanism (voice, text, internet and mobile money), and argued that the spread of mobile phone coverage offers an opportunity to help farmers adopt new technologies. Aker et al. (2016) discuss both the promise and the pitfalls of ICT for agriculture initiatives.

The evidence on effects is mixed. In a randomised experiment in 100 villages in Maharashtra, India, Fafchamps and Minten (2012) found that farmers who received market and weather information by SMS linked it to some of their decisions, and that it had small effects on where they sold and on crop grading, but they found no significant average effect on the prices farmers received, on crop value-added, or on the likelihood of changing crop varieties and cultivation practices. Cole and Fernando (2021) studied how mobile phone-based agricultural advice affects technology adoption, diffusion and sustainability. The message from this work is that information delivered by phone does not automatically change what farmers do; its influence depends on the content, the setting and the farmers' ability to act on it.

Nigerian studies show that farmers own phones but use them in limited ways. Khidir et al. (2019) found that 96% of farmers in North-West Nigeria owned a mobile phone and that nearly all knew about call and SMS applications, but most were not aware of, and did not use, other mobile applications. In the north senatorial zone of Kaduna State, Haruna et al. (2013) found that 66% of farmers owned a phone and found it very effective for sourcing and sending information on their farming business, while high service charges and poor quality of phones were the leading constraints. In Kano State, Adabara et al. (2017) reported that farmers used phones mostly for calls but also for finding market prices. In Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Garba et al. (2016) found that extension workers used mobile phones to pass information to farmers but faced problems such as poor network, farmers' lack of access to phones and battery problems. In south-western Nigeria, Ogunniyi and Ojebuyi (2016) studied how farmers use phones for agribusiness.

Zaria is one of three local government areas in Kaduna State (with Giwa and Sabon Gari) that have adopted villages of the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), and it has seven such villages with 1,225 registered farmers (Abubakar et al., 2022). In the NAERLS adopted villages of Kaduna State, telephone calls were among the extension methods that farmers preferred least (50%), which the authors attributed to inadequate network coverage, and 32.9% of the farmers reported that their locality was outside network coverage (Abubakar et al., 2022). Zaria therefore offers an informative setting in which to ask how far phone-based information actually shapes farmers' production decisions.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Mobile phones are widely owned by farmers in northern Nigeria (Khidir et al., 2019), and extension organisations and other providers increasingly send agricultural information by voice and text. However, ownership of a phone and access to information do not necessarily lead to better production decisions. Farmers use phones mainly for calls, and many do not use other applications (Adabara et al., 2017; Khidir et al., 2019). High costs, poor phone quality and weak network coverage limit use (Abubakar et al., 2022; Garba et al., 2016; Haruna et al., 2013).

Most Nigerian studies located for this work describe ownership, awareness, use and constraints. Few examine whether the information farmers obtain by phone changes specific production decisions, such as the choice of crop or variety, the timing of planting, input use, pest control and marketing. International experiments also give mixed answers: Fafchamps and Minten (2012), for example, found no significant average effect of SMS-based information on changes in crop varieties or cultivation practices in India.

It is therefore not clear whether, and in what ways, mobile phone-based agricultural information influences the production decisions of smallholder farmers in Zaria Local Government Area. This study was designed to fill that gap.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to assess the influence of mobile phone-based agricultural information on the production decisions of smallholder farmers in Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State. The specific objectives are to:

(i) describe the socio-economic characteristics of the smallholder farmers in Zaria Local Government Area;

(ii) identify the types and sources of mobile phone-based agricultural information accessed by the farmers;

(iii) determine the extent to which the farmers use mobile phones to obtain agricultural information;

(iv) identify the production decisions influenced by mobile phone-based agricultural information;

(v) determine the relationship between the use of mobile phone-based agricultural information and the farmers' production decisions; and

(vi) identify the constraints to the use of mobile phones for agricultural information.

1.4 Research Questions

The study seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What are the socio-economic characteristics of the smallholder farmers in Zaria Local Government Area?

2. What types and sources of mobile phone-based agricultural information do the farmers access?

3. To what extent do the farmers use mobile phones to obtain agricultural information?

4. Which production decisions are influenced by mobile phone-based agricultural information?

5. What is the relationship between the use of mobile phone-based agricultural information and the farmers' production decisions?

6. What constraints limit the use of mobile phones for agricultural information?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses will be tested at the 5% level of significance:

H0₁: The socio-economic characteristics of the farmers (age, sex, level of education, farm size, farming experience and income) have no significant relationship with their use of mobile phone-based agricultural information.

H0₂: There is no significant relationship between the use of mobile phone-based agricultural information and the production decisions of the farmers.

H0₃: There is no significant difference in the production decisions of farmers who use mobile phone-based agricultural information frequently and those who use it rarely or not at all.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will benefit farmers by showing which kinds of phone-based information help them to decide better on what and how to produce. It will benefit extension organisations, including NAERLS and the state extension agency, and other providers of phone-based services, by showing which types of message are used, which decisions they influence and which barriers reduce their value. This is useful in a setting where the small number of extension agents makes it hard to reach every farmer in person (Orikpe & Orikpe, 2013).

Policy makers and telecommunication regulators will find evidence for planning rural network coverage, phone-based advisory services and farmer training. The study will also contribute to the literature on ICT and agricultural extension in Nigeria, where evidence on how information changes production decisions is limited, and will be useful to students and researchers.

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study is limited to smallholder farmers in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State. It covers agricultural information received or sought through mobile phones, including voice calls, SMS and messaging or social media applications, and its relationship with production decisions such as choice of crop or variety, timing of planting, input use, pest and disease control, and marketing. It does not cover other ICT tools such as computers and the internet accessed by other means, and it does not cover farmers outside Zaria Local Government Area. The data relate to the most recent farming season.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

The study was limited by time and finance, which restricted the sample size and the number of communities visited. Farmers' accounts of which decisions were influenced by phone-based information depend on recall and judgment, and it can be hard for a farmer to separate the influence of a phone message from that of an extension agent, a neighbour or radio. The study can therefore show association but cannot fully prove that phone information caused a decision. Poor network coverage may also make it hard to reach some farmers by phone, and findings from Zaria may not apply to other areas. The researcher tried to limit these problems by using a structured questionnaire, by asking about specific decisions in a specific season, and by recording other information sources as control variables.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Mobile phone-based agricultural information: Information on farming, such as weather, market prices, inputs, planting practices and pest control, that a farmer receives or seeks through a mobile phone by voice call, SMS or messaging and social media applications.

Production decisions: The choices a farmer makes about production in a season, such as which crop or variety to plant, when to plant, how much fertiliser or other inputs to use, how to control pests and diseases, and when and where to sell.

Information and communication technology (ICT): Electronic tools and networks, including mobile phones, radio and the internet, that are used to collect, store and pass on information.

Agricultural extension: The process of passing useful information and advice from research institutions and other sources to farmers, and helping them to apply it.

Smallholder farmer: A farmer who cultivates a small area of land, mainly with family labour and limited capital.

REFERENCES

Abubakar, M. I., Idrisa, Y. L., & Pur, J. T. (2022). Preference of extension delivery methods used in the adopted villages of the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology, 22(1), 16–21.

Adabara, I., Sunusi, A., & Mbabazi, B. P. (2017). Mobile applications and agricultural knowledge of smallholder farmers in Kura Local Government, Kano State, Nigeria. International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Science, 1(6), 47–51.

Aker, J. C. (2011). Dial "A" for agriculture: A review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries. Agricultural Economics, 42(6), 631–647.

Aker, J. C., & Mbiti, I. M. (2010). Mobile phones and economic development in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(3), 207–232.

Aker, J. C., Ghosh, I., & Burrell, J. (2016). The promise (and pitfalls) of ICT for agriculture initiatives. Agricultural Economics, 47(S1), 35–48.

Cole, S. A., & Fernando, A. N. (2021). "Mobile'izing" agricultural advice: Technology adoption, diffusion and sustainability. The Economic Journal, 131(633), 192–219.

Fafchamps, M., & Minten, B. (2012). Impact of SMS-based agricultural information on Indian farmers. The World Bank Economic Review, 26(3), 383–414.

Garba, A., Mohammed, H., & Suleiman, H. (2016). Application of mobile phones in disseminating agricultural information to farmers by agricultural extension workers in Giwa Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Shiv Rudraksha International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering & Management, 1(4).

Haruna, S. K., Jamilu, A. A., Abdullahi, A. Y., & Murtala, G. B. (2013). Ownership and use of mobile phone among farmers in north senatorial zone of Kaduna State. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 17(2).

Khidir, A. A., Oladele, O. I., & Yusuf, O. J. (2019). Use of mobile phone applications by farmers in North-West Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 23(3).

Ogunniyi, D. M., & Ojebuyi, B. R. (2016). Mobile phone use for agribusiness by farmers in Southwest Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 20(2).

Orikpe, E. A., & Orikpe, G. O. (2013). Information and communication technology and enhancement of agricultural extension services in the new millennium. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 3(4), 155. https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n4p155