Factors influencing the application of information and communication technology in the management of agricutural informtation in Nakuru District, Kenya

Abstract

Agriculture is an important sector in the Kenyan economy. It contributes 26.6% to the GDP, creates employment to about 80% of the rural population, supplies raw materials to industries and earns the country the much-needed foreign exchange. There is need, therefore, to develop this sector. Agricultural infonnation is one critical resource in agricultural development. It is the basis of a modern and progressive agricultural sector. This, therefore. demands that agricultural infomiation be generated, tested, packaged and readily made available to the users. Effective use of infonnation and communication technology (ICT) would greatly improve agricultural information management for overall development of the sector. Studies, however, indicate the use of ICT-based systems for the management of agricultural infonnation within and between me various subsystems of the agricultural sector is limited. The overall purpose of the study was to establish the actual status of ICT usage in management of agricultural information and determine conditions inhibiting the implementation of the ICT usage. It investigated the current state of agricultural information management and determined the factors that influence the effective application of ICT-based systems in this Work. It further determined and documented the requirements for implementing an ICT-based system that would interface the management of agricultural information within and between the agricultural research, extension service, training institutions and farmers in Nakuru District Kenya. A modified Delphi technique was used to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. Respondents in the study Were drawn using proportionate random sampling from research scientists, the technical extension staff, teaching staff of agricultural training institutions, and farmers in the district. Questionnaires were used to collect data. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. T-test at on 5 0.05 was used to test hypotheses, accordingly. The study established that there were low levels of infonnation processing using ICT within and between the major subsystems of the agricultural sector in the district. Lack of resources, computer illiteracy, poor infrastructure and insufficient govemrnent initiative has been found to be major impediments on the utilization of this technology. lnvestrnent in science and technology, infrastructure development, and promotion of education are some of the measures that would enhance adoption of ICT in the management agricultural information for agricultural development.