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The Developmental Contribution From Mobile Phones Across the Agricultural Value Chain in Rural Africa
Author(s) -
Furuholt Bjorn,
Matotay Edmund
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the electronic journal of information systems in developing countries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.41
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1681-4835
DOI - 10.1002/j.1681-4835.2011.tb00343.x
Subject(s) - mobile phone , livelihood , tanzania , business , agriculture , information and communications technology , developing country , order (exchange) , rural area , economic growth , supply chain , mobile telephony , phone , marketing , geography , socioeconomics , economics , telecommunications , political science , engineering , linguistics , philosophy , mobile radio , archaeology , finance , law
The most widespread information and communication technology (ICT) in developing countries today is the mobile phone. The majority of people in the least developed countries still live in rural areas and their livelihood depends on the primary industries. This study investigates the use of mobile phones among farmers in rural Tanzania in order to supply empirical data on the developmental role of this technology. The results show that the improved access to communication and information that mobile phones represent affects the entire cyclic farming life during the year and has resulted in considerable changes in the entire livelihood constructs, increased opportunities and reduced risks for rural farmers.