The Role of Information and Interaction Processes in the Adoption of Agriculture Inputs in Uganda

Abstract

Agriculture is an essential component of food security, sustainable livelihoods, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers, however, are restricted in the number of crops they can grow due to small plot sizes. Agriculture inputs, such as fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and improved seed varieties, could prove to be useful resources to improve yield. Despite the potential of these agriculture technologies, input use throughout much of SSA remains low. This paper aims to better understand the process of innovation diffusion through information and interaction processes at the individual, social network, and community levels. A total of 203 participants were surveyed using a semi-structured interview method in four rural communities located in the Mbale, Lira, Kabale, and Masaka districts of Uganda. Participants were asked about their access to information technologies, information sources via social network ties, level of engagement in the local community, and agricultural input use. Results indicate households with higher levels of information access through cell phone use and weak-tie information sources are more likely to use inputs. Significant findings also include the interactional effect of cell phones and weak ties on fertilizer adoption. This research could inform policy makers of cost-effective methods of disseminating agriculture information and encouraging innovation diffusion.

Heterogeneous impacts of information technology adoption on pesticide and fertiliser expenditures: Evidence from wheat farmers in China*

“…The existing studies have provided some insights regarding the association between information technology intervention and the usage of pesticides and fertilisers. They capture information technology intervention using mobile phone use (Cole & Fernando, 2012;Freeman & Qin, 2020), ICT adoption (Al-Hassan et al, 2013;Ogutu et al, 2014) and Internet use (Yuan et al, 2021;Zhao et al, 2021). At least for now, the findings remain mixed.…”

“…In particular, the analysis for Ghana by Al-Hassan et al, (2013) finds that ICT-based project participation significantly increases pesticide expenditure, but it has a negative and insignificant impact on fertiliser expenditure. The study for Uganda by Freeman and Qin (2020) shows that access to mobile phones has a positive but insignificant impact on fertiliser use, but it significantly increases pesticide use.…”

Current status of knowledge about end-user preferences for boiled potato in Uganda – A food science, gender and demand perspective

“…Farmers with limited access to land, labor and knowledge usually have the least ability to adopt innovative practices, and this translates into low adoption of new and improved varieties (ibid). Freeman and Qin (2020) also found that households with access to information have greater likelihood to use improved inputs. Ebrahim (2019) found that amongst other factors, farmers that live near an adopter of an improved variety and have access to extension services are more likely to take up new/improved varieties.…”

Marketing Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Smallholder Livestock Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…The low acquisition of agricultural information among smallholder farmers lead to poor adoption of improved inputs and technologies, resulting in low levels of productivity (Freeman and Qin, 2020). In line with this, Mukasa, Woldemichael, Salami and Simpasa (2017) averred that the paucity of useful market information, among others, remains a challenge which contributes to the slow pace of agricultural transformation in sub-Sahara Africa.…”