Determinants of Use Of Information and Communication Technologies by Agribusiness Firms in Uganda

Private agribusiness firms are expected to contribute to the growth of Uganda's economy. They are also expected to adopt modern methods of communication to remain competitive both in the domestic and international market. However, little is known about the extent to which agribusiness firms have been using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This study establishes three different ICT levels, 1, 2, and 3 used by agribusiness firms in Uganda. Data from 104 agribusiness firms gives the categories of users as; (i) users of conventional ICT only, (ii) users of conventional ICT plus e-mail and (iii) users of conventional ICT, e-mail and Internet. Results from the multinomial logit model suggest that managers, who perceived internet to be beneficial to their business operations (positive attitude) and firms with high expenditure on information collection and dissemination, were likely to be users of ICT level 2. Education level of the manager, firms in the export trade and volume of sales were positively associated with the use of both ICT levels 2 and 3. Experience in computer use and number of computer knowledgeable staff were positively associated with ICT level 3. Key words: Agribusiness firms, e-mail, ICT, internet Eastern African Journal of Rural Development Vol.20(1) 2004: 3-11