Analysis of Information Communication Technology on Crop Marketing in Zambia - Problems and Prospects

Abstract

The study analyses Information Communication Technology with a view to ascertain problems and prospects on crop marketing in the Agriculture Sector in Zambia. The inevitable gap between the potential and the extent to which Information Communication Technology is meeting crop marketing in the Agriculture Sector has continued to prompt further research into how the benefits of Information Communication Technology can be better allied. The study used both primary and secondary data to establish the problems and prospects of Information Communication Technology on crop marketing in the Agriculture Sector. The total population for the three districts analyzed comprising six camps under study was 7840; and the sample was 290. The findings revealed that some benefits to be gained by farmers, traders and agricultural workers using Information Communication Technology in crop marketing were that of interactivity which created opportunities and awareness on the availability of crops’ quality, quantity and location. The study concluded that timely knowledge about who was buying the crops, how much one paid and where they were located could be an important tool in decision making by traders, farmers and agricultural extension workers. It enables them to balance their activities. Unfortunately, information on crop marketing rarely reached farmers in rural areas due to poor signals and electricity power outages. It was therefore recommended that establishing market information centers and tele centers in rural areas could boost access to crop marketing information.