Influence of Socioeconomic Characteristics on Purposes for which Mobile Phone was used by Small Scale Farmers in the Gezira State, Sudan

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the influence of some socioeconomic characteristics on purposes for which mobile phone was used by small scale farmers in the Gezira State, Sudan. The total number of small- scale farmers in the State for 2013-2014 growing season was estimated to be 5000. Ten percent of the population was used using the simple random sampling technique. The collected data were statistically analyzed and interpreted using percentage, frequency distribution and chi-square test. The results showed significant association between the age, education level and farm size of small scale farmers and their purposes for which mobile phone was used. It can be concluded that the relatively high cost of buying and use of mobile phones can negatively influence the frequency of contacts of small scale farmers particularly their use of mobile phones for agriculture services needed. In addition, the results of this study can help in improving the mobile telephone services which in turn may increase the success of agricultural development programmes in the State and the rest of the country. Thus, more efforts should be paid by mobile telephone service companies of Sudan to expand their services to provide services for all aspects of agricultural activities in the State and use more advanced technology in operating mobile telephone networks in order to reduce cost of buying and using mobile phones particularly for small scale farmers in the Gezira State and the rest of the country.