New Media and Sustainable Agricultural Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The Nigerian agricultural sector over the years has witnessed efforts at transforming its operations. The use of ICT stands out as the most recent strategy deployed to revolutionize agricultural activities. Consequently, the use of mobile phones by Nigeria farmers has emerged as important in enhancing agricultural productivity. This paper examine whether Nigeria farmers’ mobile phone use have brought about any significant difference in agricultural information exchange and productivity. Semi-structured interview and focus group discussions were used to collect data from 50 farmers, 15 extension workers, and 40 farm produce sellers to understand their engagements with and use of mobile phones for agricultural development. Results indicate that 65% of the extension workers report increase in effectiveness and area of coverage through mobile phone use; 73% of farmers use mobile phones for agricultural information search and exchange; while farm produce merchants report increased income of about 56% through mobile phone use.

Keywords: New Media, Sustainable, Agricultural productivity, Unemployment, Economic Empowerment.