Exploring factors influencing the use of internet in the household by women small-scale farmers in rural South Africa: evidence from GHS 2019

This study adds to the empirical evidence of information and communication technology (ICT) use by women smallholder farmers in South Africa. The study draws on quantitative data collected by Statistics South Africa. The General Household Survey (GHS) for 2019 was manipulated to meet study objectives. The GHS questionnaire was used to sample households, and special attention was given to women farmers who have access to buyers of agricultural products through internet access in the household. A stratified design was used for primary units, and systematic sampling for dwelling units. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics 30.0.0) was used for analysis of statistical data. Findings indicated that rural farmers from Free State largely access internet to reach formal and international agricultural markets. Whilst, in other provinces farmers access internet mostly to reach local buyers from the district. Yet, gaining access to the internet access remains a predicament considering it is accessed by limited number of farmers. The Whites predominantly access internet to reach all agricultural market over other racial groups. The farmers with secondary education largely use internet and tend to access both local, formal, and international agricultural markets. To test association amongst variables, Chi-square tests showed a significant association. The Phi and Cramer’s V tests showed a moderate and strong relationship amongst the variables. Logistic regression reveals that all variables, age; race; education; just to name a few, are leading factors that explain internet accessibility by women farmers. The study fundamentally recommended that the government should establish internet access platforms that can be accessed by farmers for free or that which will charge affordable rates to attain agricultural and market information.