ICT Use in Livestock Innovation Chain in Ibadan City in Nigeria

Abstract

Using data collected from 300 goat/sheep, poultry, cattle, piggery, aquaculture and dog rearing farmers, this study examined ICT awareness, and its use in innovation chain by livestock farmers in Ibadan, an agrarian community in Nigeria. The study also examined the relationship between ICT use, awareness, and uses in the various innovation links as well as how demographic characteristics of the farmers relate to their ICT use. For all the technologies, listed number of respondents reporting awareness is higher than those reporting use, except for mobile phone where equal number of respondents reported both awareness and use. Marketing is the purpose for which most of the respondents reported using ICT. Computers were used by large famers for feed formulation and knowledge management; mobile phones served the purpose of managing animal health, linking customers, managing of farms and marketing of goods while internet/email was scarcely reportedly used for farming purpose. The findings of the study raises the question of building electronic livestock farmers network as well as training farmers on how ICT could used to meet production and animal health needs.