Knowledge and perception of farmers on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Ife-Central Local Government Area of Osun State: Implications for rural development

This study focused on knowledge and perception of farmers on information and communication technology (ICT) use in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun State. A pretested and validated interview schedule was used to source information from 150 farmers selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyze the data collected. The result revealed among others, that the mean age of the respondents was 47.29 years, while the mean income was 505,600 Naira. Furthermore, majority (76.0%) of the farmers had a low awareness of ICT use, while majority (76.0%) of the farmers had a low knowledge of ICT. Also, majority (84.7%) of the farmers had an indifferent perception on ICT use. Number of year of formal education of farmers, knowledge on ICT and perception on ICT use explained 38.8% of the change in farmers’ awareness on ICT in the study area. The study recommended that anytime programme that should improve the awareness of farmers’ on ICT is being planned, the significant variables should be considered. Key words: Knowledge, perception, information communication technology, farmers.