Assessment of Utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Rice Farmers in Production in Nasarawa State, Nigeria

This study assessed the utilizations of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Rice Farmers in Production in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The broad objective of the study is to assess the Utilizations of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Rice Farmers in Production in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to sample 300 rice farmers. Descriptive statistics and logit regression analysis were used to achieve the specific objectives. The results showed that the majority (60.67%) of the rice farmers in the study area were married men, with a mean age of 41 years. The results revealed that most rice farmers show partial awareness of ICT. The result of the ICT tools available to the rice farmers in the study area showed that telephones are the most accessible ICT tool. The result of the Pairwise ranking for the most useful ICT tool revealed that the rice farmers in the study area find the telephone most useful with 125 frequency. The result of the logit regression showed that the negative coefficient of age (P<0.1) influenced the utilisation of ICT tools among the rice farmers in the study area, while poor electricity was the highest problem militating against the rice farmers’ use of ICTs in the study area with 207 frequency and 17.01%. The study concludes that socio-economic factors, particularly gender and age, significantly influence the adoption and utilisation of ICTs among rice farmers. It also highlights a positive relationship between ICT availability and usage levels. Since most rice farmers are only partially aware of ICT tools, the study therefore recommends targeted awareness campaigns led by agricultural extension agents to improve farmers' understanding and effective use of ICT tools for agricultural development in the region.