IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i22p6282-d284988.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards Auspicious Agricultural Informatization—Implication of Farmers’ Behavioral Intention Apropos of Mobile Phone Use in Agriculture

Author

Listed:
  • Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso

    (College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    China Center for Food Security Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness, Prince G Academy and Consultancy, Kabwe 10101, Zambia)

  • Shangao Wang

    (College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    China Center for Food Security Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

  • Zhangxing Xu

    (College of Finance, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

  • Xu Tian

    (College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    China Center for Food Security Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

Abstract

The success of agricultural development programs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is subject to the extent and nature of information communication technology (ICT) usage, particularly mobile phones. In comparison to other ICTs, the mobile phone is less demanding in terms of user capabilities, infrastructure requirements, and affordability. Mobile phone technology plays a vital role in facilitating the realization of benefits for farmers through access to useful agricultural information. However, up till now farmers' behavioral intention towards mobile phone use has hardly been evaluated yet it is a critical issue that policymakers and development partners need to comprehend. Is mobile phone use in agriculture dependent upon farmers’ behavioral intention? We address this topic using cross-sectional data from Zambia obtained through a two-stage sampling procedure. Our results establish that a strong association consistent with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) exists. This suggests that positive behavioral intention has a substantial likelihood to elicit auspicious agricultural informatization and consequently, household economic development. We further find that mobile phone ownership, family size, wealth, and marital status can significantly influence smallholders’ behavioral change towards mobile phone use in agriculture. Therefore, in an effort to promote sustainable agricultural information access in rural settings, our study strongly demonstrates the relevance of farmers’ behavioral intent towards mobile phone use, and also enriches the discussion on the implementation of mobile phone use for collecting agricultural information.

Suggested Citation

  • Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Shangao Wang & Zhangxing Xu & Xu Tian, 2019. "Towards Auspicious Agricultural Informatization—Implication of Farmers’ Behavioral Intention Apropos of Mobile Phone Use in Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6282-:d:284988
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6282/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6282/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shimamoto, Daichi & Yamada, Hiroyuki & Gummert, Martin, 2015. "Mobile phones and market information: Evidence from rural Cambodia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 135-141.
    2. Haruna Sekabira & Matin Qaim, 2017. "Mobile money, agricultural marketing, and off-farm income in Uganda," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(5), pages 597-611, September.
    3. Aker, Jenny C. & Ksoll, Christopher, 2016. "Can mobile phones improve agricultural outcomes? Evidence from a randomized experiment in Niger," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 44-51.
    4. Léopold Simar & Paul W. Wilson, 2015. "Statistical Approaches for Non-parametric Frontier Models: A Guided Tour," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 83(1), pages 77-110, April.
    5. Noltze, Martin & Schwarze, Stefan & Qaim, Matin, 2013. "Impacts of natural resource management technologies on agricultural yield and household income: The system of rice intensification in Timor Leste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 59-68.
    6. -, 2011. "ICT in Latin America: a microdata analysis," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 35290, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    7. Daniel Solís & Boris E. Bravo‐Ureta & Ricardo E. Quiroga, 2009. "Technical Efficiency among Peasant Farmers Participating in Natural Resource Management Programmes in Central America," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 202-219, February.
    8. Jenny C. Aker & Marcel Fafchamps, 2015. "Mobile Phone Coverage and Producer Markets: Evidence from West Africa," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 29(2), pages 262-292.
    9. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    10. Terza, Joseph V. & Basu, Anirban & Rathouz, Paul J., 2008. "Two-stage residual inclusion estimation: Addressing endogeneity in health econometric modeling," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 531-543, May.
    11. Eduardo Nakasone & Maximo Torero, 2016. "A text message away: ICTs as a tool to improve food security," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 49-59, November.
    12. Kebede, Yohannes & Gunjal, Kisan & Coffin, Garth, 1990. "Adoption of new technologies in Ethiopian agriculture: The case of Tegulet-Bulga district Shoa province," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 27-43, April.
    13. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can Mobile Phones Improve Gender Equality and Nutrition? Panel Data Evidence from Farm Households in Uganda," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 256215, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    14. Sanne Blauw & Philip Hans Franses, 2016. "Off the Hook: Measuring the Impact of Mobile Telephone Use on Economic Development of Households in Uganda using Copulas," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 315-330, March.
    15. Ishwar S. Parmar & Peeyush Soni & John K. M. Kuwornu & Krishna R. Salin, 2019. "Evaluating Farmers’ Access to Agricultural Information: Evidence from Semi-Arid Region of Rajasthan State, India," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-17, March.
    16. Jenny C. Aker & Isaac M. Mbiti, 2010. "Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 207-232, Summer.
    17. Kabbiri, Ronald & Dora, Manoj & Kumar, Vikas & Elepu, Gabriel & Gellynck, Xavier, 2018. "Mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector: Are farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa connected?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 253-261.
    18. J. Arbuckle & Linda Prokopy & Tonya Haigh & Jon Hobbs & Tricia Knoot & Cody Knutson & Adam Loy & Amber Mase & Jean McGuire & Lois Morton & John Tyndall & Melissa Widhalm, 2013. "Climate change beliefs, concerns, and attitudes toward adaptation and mitigation among farmers in the Midwestern United States," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 117(4), pages 943-950, April.
    19. Lee R. Lynd & Jeremy Woods, 2011. "Perspective: A new hope for Africa," Nature, Nature, vol. 474(7352), pages 20-21, June.
    20. Muto, Megumi & Yamano, Takashi, 2009. "The Impact of Mobile Phone Coverage Expansion on Market Participation: Panel Data Evidence from Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 1887-1896, December.
    21. Mittal, Surabhi & Tripathi, Gaurav, 2009. "Role of Mobile Phone Technology in Improving Small Farm Productivity," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 22(Conferenc).
    22. Enoch M Kikulwe & Elisabeth Fischer & Matin Qaim, 2014. "Mobile Money, Smallholder Farmers, and Household Welfare in Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-13, October.
    23. Tadesse, Getaw & Bahiigwa, Godfrey, 2015. "Mobile Phones and Farmers’ Marketing Decisions in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 296-307.
    24. Jenny C. Aker, 2010. "Information from Markets Near and Far: Mobile Phones and Agricultural Markets in Niger," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 46-59, July.
    25. Joseph V. Terza, 2017. "Two-stage residual inclusion estimation: A practitioners guide to Stata implementation," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 17(4), pages 916-938, December.
    26. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Shangao Wang & Sanzidur Rahman & Essiagnon John-Philippe Alavo & Xu Tian, 2019. "Agricultural Informatization and Technical Efficiency in Maize Production in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.
    27. Surabhi Mittal & Sanjay Gandhi & Gaurav Tripathi, "undated". "Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile Phones on Indian Agriculture," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 246, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    28. Robert Jensen, 2007. "The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance, and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 879-924.
    29. Arega Alene & V. Manyong, 2007. "The effects of education on agricultural productivity under traditional and improved technology in northern Nigeria: an endogenous switching regression analysis," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 141-159, April.
    30. Richard Duncombe & Richard Boateng, 2009. "Mobile Phones and Financial Services in Developing Countries: a review of concepts, methods, issues, evidence and future research directions," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(7), pages 1237-1258.
    31. Yohannes Kebede & Kisan Gunjal & Garth Coffin, 1990. "Adoption of New Technologies in Ethiopian Agriculture: The Case of Tegulet‐Bulga District, Shoa Province," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 4(1), pages 27-43, April.
    32. Gashaw Tadesse ABATE & Gian Nicola FRANCESCONI & Kindie GETNET, 2014. "Impact Of Agricultural Cooperatives On Smallholders’ Technical Efficiency: Empirical Evidence From Ethiopia," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(2), pages 257-286, June.
    33. Jeffrey James & Mila Versteeg, 2007. "Mobile phones in Africa: how much do we really know?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 117-126, October.
    34. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can mobile phones improve gender equality and nutrition? Panel data evidence from farm households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 95-103.
    35. Keith O. Fuglie & Darrell J. Bosch, 1995. "Economic and Environmental Implications of Soil Nitrogen Testing: A Switching-Regression Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(4), pages 891-900.
    36. James, M.J. & Versteeg, M., 2007. "Mobile phones in Africa : How much do we really know?," Other publications TiSEM 71c384dd-b246-4fa0-a046-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    37. Nachane, Dilip M., 2006. "Econometrics: Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Perspectives," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195647907.
    38. Maddala,G. S., 1986. "Limited-Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521338257.
    39. Sanzidur Rahman, 2010. "Women’s Labour Contribution to Productivity and Efficiency in Agriculture: Empirical Evidence From Bangladesh," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 318-342, June.
    40. Osabutey, Ellis L.C. & Jin, Zhongqi, 2016. "Factors influencing technology and knowledge transfer: Configurational recipes for Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5390-5395.
    41. Vella, Francis, 1993. "A Simple Estimator for Simultaneous Models with Censored Endogenous Regressors," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 34(2), pages 441-457, May.
    42. Michael Lokshin & Zurab Sajaia, 2004. "Maximum likelihood estimation of endogenous switching regression models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(3), pages 282-289, September.
    43. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Bwalya, Richard & Kamwanga, Jolly & Wamulume, Mukata, 2012. "Assessing the Feasibility of Implementing the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) Through an Electronic Voucher System in Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Policy Briefs 123210, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    44. Quisumbing, Agnes R., 1996. "Male-female differences in agricultural productivity: Methodological issues and empirical evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(10), pages 1579-1595, October.
    45. Assefa, Admassie & Gezahegn, Ayele, 2011. "Adoption of Improved Technology in Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 19(1), pages 180-180, September.
    46. Farhina Hameed & Abdul Qayyum, 2018. "Determinants of Behavioral Intention towards Mobile Learning in Pakistan: Mediating role of Attitude," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 10(1), pages 33-62, March.
    47. Jenny Aker, 2008. "Does Digital Divide or Provide? The Impact of Cell Phones on Grain Markets in Niger," Working Papers 154, Center for Global Development.
    48. Gutiérrez, Luis H., 2011. "ICT and labor productivity in Colombian manufacturing industry," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 35295, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    49. Orkhan Guliyev & Aijun Liu & Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Jarkko Niemi, 2019. "The Determinants of Technical Efficiency of Hazelnut Production in Azerbaijan: An Analysis of the Role of NGOs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-19, August.
    50. Mofya-Mukuka, Rhoda & Kabwe, Stephen & Kuteya, Auckland N. & Mason, Nicole M., 2013. "How Can the Zambian Government Improve the Targeting of the Farmer Input Support Program?," Food Security Collaborative Policy Briefs 146939, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Xu Tian & Xianhui Geng, 2020. "Rethinking Food Production: Nexus of Mobile Phones and Production Cost Minimization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Shangao Wang & Aseres Mamo Eshetie & Xu Tian, 2020. "Ameliorating Food and Nutrition Security in Farm Households: Does Informatization Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Aparo, Nathaline Onek & Odongo, Walter & De Steur, Hans, 2022. "Unraveling heterogeneity in farmer's adoption of mobile phone technologies: A systematic review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Shangao Wang & Sanzidur Rahman & Essiagnon John-Philippe Alavo & Xu Tian, 2019. "Agricultural Informatization and Technical Efficiency in Maize Production in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Kabbiri, Ronald & Dora, Manoj & Kumar, Vikas & Elepu, Gabriel & Gellynck, Xavier, 2018. "Mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector: Are farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa connected?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 253-261.
    3. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Shangao Wang & Aseres Mamo Eshetie & Xu Tian, 2020. "Ameliorating Food and Nutrition Security in Farm Households: Does Informatization Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Ma, W. & Grafton, Q. & Renwick, A., 2018. "Gender and Income Effects of Smartphone Use: The Case of Rural China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277310, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Xu Tian & Xianhui Geng, 2020. "Rethinking Food Production: Nexus of Mobile Phones and Production Cost Minimization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, April.
    6. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can Mobile Phones Improve Gender Equality and Nutrition? Panel Data Evidence from Farm Households in Uganda," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 256215, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    7. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can mobile phones improve gender equality and nutrition? Panel data evidence from farm households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 95-103.
    8. Abate, Gashaw T. & Abay, Kibrom A. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Kassim, Yumna & Spielman, David J. & Paul Jr Tabe-Ojong, Martin, 2023. "Digital tools and agricultural market transformation in Africa: Why are they not at scale yet, and what will it take to get there?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    9. Pallavi Rajkhowa & Matin Qaim, 2022. "Mobile phones, off‐farm employment and household income in rural India," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 789-805, September.
    10. Wanglin Ma & R. Quentin Grafton & Alan Renwick, 2020. "Smartphone use and income growth in rural China: empirical results and policy implications," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 713-736, December.
    11. Martin C. Parlasca & Oliver Mußhoff & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Can mobile phones improve nutrition among pastoral communities? Panel data evidence from Northern Kenya," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(3), pages 475-488, May.
    12. Evans, Olaniyi, 2018. "Digital Agriculture: Mobile Phones, Internet & Agricultural Development in Africa," MPRA Paper 90359, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Min, Shi & Liu, Min & Huang, Jikun, 2020. "Does the application of ICTs facilitate rural economic transformation in China? Empirical evidence from the use of smartphones among farmers," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. Rajkhowa, Pallavi & Qaim, Matin, 2022. "Mobile phones, women's physical mobility, and contraceptive use in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    15. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2016. "Mobile Money, Agricultural Marketing, and Off-Farm Income in Uganda," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 234998, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    16. Ni Zhuo & Baozhi Li & Qibiao Zhu & Chen Ji, 2023. "Smartphone‐based agricultural extension services and farm incomes: Evidence from Zhejiang Province in China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1383-1402, August.
    17. Peng Nie & Wanglin Ma & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2021. "The relationship between smartphone use and subjective well-being in rural China," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 983-1009, December.
    18. Parlasca, Martin C. & Mußhoff, Oliver & Qaim, Matin, 2018. "How mobile phones can improve nutrition among pastoral communities: Panel data evidence from Northern Kenya," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 274651, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    19. Camacho, Adriana & Conover, Emily, 2019. "The impact of receiving SMS price and weather information on small scale farmers in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    20. Wouter Zant, 2017. "Impact of Mobile Phones on Staple Food Markets in Mozambique: Improved Arbitrage or Increased Rent Extraction?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 17-021/V, Tinbergen Institute, revised 26 Jan 2018.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6282-:d:284988. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.