An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana
Abstract Background The rapid growth of mobile phones in Ghana has opened up the possibility of delivering timely and useful weather and market information to farmers at costs lower than traditional agricultural extension services. In this paper, we assess the usefulness, constraints, and factors li...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2017-04-01
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| Series: | Agriculture & Food Security |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40066-016-0088-y |
| _version_ | 1828463942554353664 |
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| author | Prince Maxwell Etwire Saaka Buah Mathieu Ouédraogo Robert Zougmoré Samuel Tetteh Partey Edward Martey Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba Jules Bayala |
| author_facet | Prince Maxwell Etwire Saaka Buah Mathieu Ouédraogo Robert Zougmoré Samuel Tetteh Partey Edward Martey Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba Jules Bayala |
| author_sort | Prince Maxwell Etwire |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The rapid growth of mobile phones in Ghana has opened up the possibility of delivering timely and useful weather and market information to farmers at costs lower than traditional agricultural extension services. In this paper, we assess the usefulness, constraints, and factors likely to influence farmers’ decisions to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Methods We rely on primary data from 310 farmers in the Upper West Region, an understudied part of Ghana. We subject the data to three types of analysis. First, we model farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information by estimating a binary logit model. Second, we use descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing to analyse the level of usefulness of mobile phone-based weather and market information. We disaggregate the analysis by sex, income status, and age group. Finally, we use qualitative analysis to summarize the constraints associated with the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. Results We find that contact with agricultural extension agents and farmer-to-farmer extension services significantly influences farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Regardless of sex, income status, and age group, farmers generally rate mobile phone-based weather and market information as very useful. We identify inexact information, complex text messages, information that are too costly to implement, and poor infrastructure as the constraints to the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. Conclusion In order to improve the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information, disseminators of mobile phone-based information such as Esoko should constantly update and provide client-specific information. Improvements in mobile phone networks and related services will enhance the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:01:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25e499e69f1c45a38caffce75829b8f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2048-7010 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:01:34Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture & Food Security |
| spelling | doaj.art-25e499e69f1c45a38caffce75829b8f32022-12-22T01:23:01ZengBMCAgriculture & Food Security2048-70102017-04-01611910.1186/s40066-016-0088-yAn assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of GhanaPrince Maxwell Etwire0Saaka Buah1Mathieu Ouédraogo2Robert Zougmoré3Samuel Tetteh Partey4Edward Martey5Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba6Jules Bayala7Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI)Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI)International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI)World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), West and Central Africa Regional Office - Sahel NodeWorld Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), West and Central Africa Regional Office - Sahel NodeAbstract Background The rapid growth of mobile phones in Ghana has opened up the possibility of delivering timely and useful weather and market information to farmers at costs lower than traditional agricultural extension services. In this paper, we assess the usefulness, constraints, and factors likely to influence farmers’ decisions to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Methods We rely on primary data from 310 farmers in the Upper West Region, an understudied part of Ghana. We subject the data to three types of analysis. First, we model farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information by estimating a binary logit model. Second, we use descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing to analyse the level of usefulness of mobile phone-based weather and market information. We disaggregate the analysis by sex, income status, and age group. Finally, we use qualitative analysis to summarize the constraints associated with the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. Results We find that contact with agricultural extension agents and farmer-to-farmer extension services significantly influences farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Regardless of sex, income status, and age group, farmers generally rate mobile phone-based weather and market information as very useful. We identify inexact information, complex text messages, information that are too costly to implement, and poor infrastructure as the constraints to the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information. Conclusion In order to improve the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information, disseminators of mobile phone-based information such as Esoko should constantly update and provide client-specific information. Improvements in mobile phone networks and related services will enhance the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40066-016-0088-yAgricultural extensionBinary logitEsokoGhanaMobile phoneWeather and market information |
| spellingShingle | Prince Maxwell Etwire Saaka Buah Mathieu Ouédraogo Robert Zougmoré Samuel Tetteh Partey Edward Martey Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba Jules Bayala An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana Agriculture & Food Security Agricultural extension Binary logit Esoko Ghana Mobile phone Weather and market information |
| title | An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| title_full | An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| title_fullStr | An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| title_short | An assessment of mobile phone-based dissemination of weather and market information in the Upper West Region of Ghana |
| title_sort | assessment of mobile phone based dissemination of weather and market information in the upper west region of ghana |
| topic | Agricultural extension Binary logit Esoko Ghana Mobile phone Weather and market information |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40066-016-0088-y |
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