DETERMINANNTS OF MOBILE PHONE USE TO ENHANCE AVAILABILITY OF VEGETABLE MARKET INFORMATION IN RAYA KOBO DISTRICT, AMHARA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, NORTH EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

In the study area, vegetable production is one of the livelihoods for the farmers and has been perceived to have high market income and staple food. However, the farmers still suffer from limited availability of vegetable market information hence end up fetching poor prices for their product resulting in low income. Therefore, this study was intended to assess the determinants of mobile phone use to enhance availability of vegetable market information in Raya Kobo District. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the study area. Simple random sampling techniques (lottery method) and probabilities proportional to size sampling procedure were used to select 150 respondents from four kebeles by using multi stage sampling techniques. While, FGDs and KIs members were selected purposively. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaire and qualitative data were collected through KIs interview and FGDs. The quantitative data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, standard deviation, chi-squire, sample ttest and binary logistic regression model was used. In addition, qualitative data were analyzed by narrating and summary. The result of quantitative data analyses revealed that 83 (55.33%) were mobile phone users while 67 (44.66%) were non-users. The model results indicated that age, family size, total annual income, distance to market and extension contact were significantly affecting the use of mobile phone for vegetable marketing. The result of extent of mobile phone use indicated that majority of the respondents categorized into medium 64(77.11%) and 14(16.87%) of respondents were belongs into low extent. Whereas respondents belongs to in high extent of mobile phone use were very small in numbers 5(6.02%). The qualitative result of the study in connection to challenges of mobile phone use revealed that poor infrastructure such as maintenance services, limited mobile network coverage and installations, busy or limited networks; lack of mobile phone operating skills, inability to Purchas to mobile phone and limited trust and aptitude of mobile phone use (call only) were major challenges. Whereas government support to ICT sectors, alternative sources of electric power (solar energy) and farmers mobile phone use experiences were identified as an opportunities. It could be conclude that mobile phone positively contributed to vegetable producer farmer. Farmers who had more income, less family size, frequently contact with extension agents, far from market location and elder farmers had better opportunity to use mobile phone for enhanced availability of vegetable market information. Therefore, performing awareness creation activities and training for farmers about economic advantage of mobile phone and technically how to operation it, providing mobile phone service infrastructure and diversifying income sources for the farmers to have mobile phone are important in order to increase the increase the extent of farmers’ mobile phone and solve the constraints of farmers mobile phone use.