Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Adoption of Mobile Phone Applications for Improved Small-scale Commercial Agriculture in Makonde District, Zimbabwe

Mobile applications have provided a new way for agricultural transformation. This is set to revolutionise the agriculture sector with easy access to vital agricultural information on weather, market trends, pest, and disease management, and best agriculture practices to enhance agricultural productivity and profitability. However, there is a dearth of studies on the adoption of mobile applications in agriculture. It was important for this study to understand the impact of farmers’ demographic characteristics on the adoption of mobile applications in small-scale commercial agriculture. The study applied the quantitative research approach, a sample size of 213 small-scale commercial farmers, a descriptive cross-sectional research design, and the structured household questionnaire survey instrument, purposive random and stratified sampling techniques to collect primary data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study revealed a higher adoption rate of mobile applications among young farmers than old farmers. The study indicated that female small-scale commercial farmers adopted mobile applications than male farmers. The study revealed that the majority of small-scale commercial farmers were literate. Further, the study highlighted that married farmers exhibited a greater tendency to adopt mobile applications than single, divorced, separated, and widowed. Furthermore, the study revealed that the majority of small-scale commercial farmers were engaged in agriculture as their primary occupation. The study argued that young farmers, female farmers, educated farmers, married farmers, and farming as a primary occupation positively influenced the adoption of mobile phone applications for improved small-scale commercial agriculture. The study recommends that policymakers and implementers should consider socio-demographic characteristics as critical determinants of the adoption of mobile phone applications for improved small-scale commercial agriculture to tailor strategies that promote the adoption of mobile applications based on different farmer age groups