Utilization of ICT for agriculture: A case study of Kakamega county, Kenya

The success of ICT's in agriculture in Kenya has been widely reported with examples such as Mfarm, icow and kilimo salama gaining widespread acclaim However, a 2013 study on the level of utilisation of the Kenya Seed maize variety SMS system revealed that the system was underutilised by both farmers and extension offers alike. This finding, especially among extension officers was quite surprising given that they are the agents of education and change in the farming communities that they serve. This study therefore sought to establish the level of utilisation of ICT's in the region and to identify possible cases for the level of utilisation. The study established that most extension officers were not aware of a majority of ICT's presented to them and made minimal use of the ones that they were of. Information literacy, gender and awareness were found to be the main determinants of utilization with awareness being influenced by the general use of ICT's and in-service training.