LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literatures that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Women and Agricultural Development

Over the last several decades, considerable effort has been made throughout the world to provide women farmers with efficient, effective, and appropriate technology, training, and information. The positive effects are beginning to show in agricultural production statistics and in indices of family welfare. Yet these successes still fall far short of what is needed at a time when public sector investments in agricultural research and extension are under pressure, when ever-greater demands are being placed on rural women in the face of rapid social transformation, and, in an increasing number of areas, when evidence of environmental degradation is mounting. It is now widely demonstrated that rural women, as well as men, throughout the world are engaged in a range of productive activities essential to household welfare, agricultural productivity, and economic growth. Yet women's substantial contribution continues to systematically marginalized and undervalued in conventional agricultural and economic analyses and policies, while men's contribution remains the central, often the sole, focus of attention (Jiggins, Samanta and Olawoye, 2000).Agricultural extension services still do not attach much importance to reaching women farmers or women on the farm. Policy makers and administrators typically still assume (in the face of the empirical data) that men are the farmers and women play only “supportive role” as farmers‟ wives (Samanta, 1994). It is typical of ministries to assume that home economics services can substitute for agricultural training and information for women. Home economics and agriculture are both important, but they are not substitutes.

According to Obayelu and Ogunlade (2006), as cited by Olatokun (2007), findings from UNIFEM (2000) have revealed that in the formal sector in Nigeria, women constitute 30 per cent of professional posts, 17 per cent of administrative/managerial positions, 30 per cent of clerical positions; and 17 per cent are employed in other categories. They are disproportionately concentrated in low-paid jobs, particularly in agriculture and the informal sector. The Federal Office of Statistics has noted that 48 per cent of women are engaged in agricultural work, and 38 per cent are involved in petty trading at markets, although it is a common knowledge that most rural women conduct both roles. Women and young girls in Nigeria are burdened with an unfair workload inside and outside the home. Data suggest that 33 per cent of women work five or more days per week for very long hours to supplement the family income. In rural areas, aside from their reproductive and housekeeping roles, women fetch water and gather firewood, in addition to conducting much of the agricultural work in the fields such as planting, hoeing and weeding, harvesting, transporting and storage of crops. The Imo state WIA programme for instance was set-up under the Imo State Agricultural Development Project (ISADP) in1991 (Odurukwe, Matthew-Njoku and Ejiogu-Okereke, 2006). This programme was established to mobilize women in gender specific activities, which include post-harvest activities like processing, utilization, storage and marketing of agricultural products. The major activities of WIA still remain to form women groups and assist them establish group-farms. It is through these groups that the WIA extension agent transfers recommended technology to the women for adoption. However, the WIA programme places much emphasis on off-farm activities of the women and has concentrated in the transfer of the following home economic technologies:

Cassava processing and utilization- pancake, flour and odorless fufu

Processing and storage of maize, gari, cassava flour, tapioca, maize flour, malted maize drink, corn meal, pap (wet and malted maize flour).

Processing and utilization of soybean into soymilk, flour paste and soy meal

Processing and storage of fresh tomatoes into tomato paste.

Rabbit meat processing and utilization

Processing and storage of melon

Cocoyam processing and utilization into cocoyam flour for soup thickening and cocoyam chips

Dry season vegetable gardening

Harvesting and storage of paddy rice.

2.2 Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their Uses

Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer–based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.” It deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and secure or retrieve information (Wikipedia, 2009). The encyclopedia further stated that today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass all aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a wide range of duties beginning from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and databases. A few other duties they perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems. When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology or “infotech”. IT is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.

The term Information Technology (IT) is sometimes said to have been coined by JIM Domsic Michigan in November 1981.Domsic, who worked as a computer manager for an automotive related industry, is supposed to have created the term to modernize the outdated phrase “data processing”. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, defined information technology as “the branch of technology concerned with the dissemination, processing, and storage of information, especially by means of computers” (Wikipedia, 2009). There is a broad consensus in the literature on the definition of „Information and communication Technologies (ICT) especially on its electronic nature and Information-Technology (IT) based system. ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application,encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning (http://www.techtarget.com). In several developing countries as Omotayo (2005) observed, the initiative of adoption of ICT in agricultural and rural development are receiving a boost. The case of Uganda was pointed out where bold initiatives to test and promote the applicability and use of ICT in rural development have been taken by the government, development agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs). In Canada, the government through the International Development Research Center is supporting the Acacia Initiative programme in Africa to empower sub-Saharan rural communities with ability to apply ICT to their own social and economic development. Acacia is testing the proposition that ICT can also have significant transformation effect on the developing world as it did in developed countries. Ghana perhaps appears to be one of the foremost countries to adopt ICT in its National Agricultural Research System (NARS) in West African Sub region. Although Ghana also has a long way to go, there is the hope that by 2010 ICT in Ghana will be used to conduct research (typing of reports, statistical analysis, literature search) and even extension activities through establishment of information centers and telecenters. It is of concern however, that relatively little is known about how rural communities in Nigeria, particularly rural women, benefit from modern telecommunication services and what impact it is having on their lives and livelihoods. The WIA sub-component of the ADPs was designed ,as Enwere (1998) stated, to source , adapt, generate and disseminate agricultural information for the purpose of increasing food production, maintaining food value and raising the income of women farmers; thus improving and raising the standard of living of rural women. According to Mansell and When, (1988), ICT applications are useful in numerous instances to facilitate the development of various aspects of

the society. At the micro level, ICTs applications can be used to impart information directly to farmers and the farming community. It is now common to hear about Summits, meetings and conferences on „ICTs for development‟, „cyberspace‟, „digital economy‟, „information superhighways‟, „the information society and „networked society‟ (Preston 2001) among others. A number of bilateral and multilateral donor organisations have now mainstreamed ICTs in their development programmes in order to be more effective to meet the millennium development goals (Litho, 2005).

The information society cannot be complete without engagement and involvement of African women, such as the women- in- agriculture, who play a major role in reaching and disseminating agricultural information to rural women in different communities. In Nigeria, Arokoyo (2003) stated that the major ICTs used in agricultural extension delivery have been radio and video/television. However, since the establishment of the National communication commission in 1992, digital communication through the use of cell phones, desktop computers, laptops and internet service have become common and available for use even for extension services too.

The Various ICT Tools

ICTs in agriculture are broadly classified by Uguru (2001) in Ozor and Madukwe (2004) into two groups - low and high. Equipment and mechanisms such as projectors, copying machines, telephones, radio and television sets, etc., are examples of low ICT (hardware). Also included are the software or materials used with the aid of the above hardware, such as films, slides, tapes, pictures, transparencies, radio and television programmes. 0n the other hand, high ICTs consist of various means of obtaining and transferring information using computers, telecommunications and microelectronics. While hardware refer to the physical equipment, software involve the technological know-how to operate, expand and maintain technology, and the organizational skills needed for planning the structures to long term management of the technology. While the term ICTs can be interpreted as including a wide range of media, new ICTs is used to denote the use of computers and communication systems between computers (CTA 1999). These modern technologies offer new and multiple perspectives, such as faster and better-focused access to information.According to Wikipedia (2009), ICT consists of three main technologies. They are: Computer Technology, Communication Technology and Information Management Technology. These technologies are applied for processing, exchanging and managing data, information and knowledge. The tools provided by ICT are having ability to:

Record text, drawings, photographs, audio, video, process descriptions, and other information in digital formats.

Produce exact duplicates of such information at significantly lower cost.

Transfer information and knowledge rapidly over large distances through communications networks.

Develop standardized algorithms to large quantities of information relatively rapidly.

Achieve greater interactivity in communicating, evaluating, producing and sharing useful information and knowledge.

ICTs play a significant role in social and economic development in developing countries, where interconnections and information flows can be established between rural communities and the more developed regions. In this context, ICTs can be defined as tools that aid in the communication between people by capturing, processing, storing, and communicating information electronically, as well as services and applications that assist in the management of information (Heeks, 1999) in Pade, Mallinson and Lannon (2005).According to Natasha (2002), ICTs are a multi-level phenomenon:

IT equipment and services

Telecommunications equipment and services

Media and broadcast

Internet service provision

Libraries

Commercial information service provision

Network based information services and a diverse set of technological tools and resources to create, disseminate, store, bring value addition to, and manage information. Traditional media and emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) have played a major role in the diffusion of information to rural communities, and have more potential. For example, the use of radio facilitating agricultural marketing and dissemination of market information or the use of mobile phone to link farmers and entrepreneurs. Currently, many scholars and international agencies argue that ICTs have the potential to increase agricultural productivity through communicating knowledge and information to rural agricultural communities, providing capacity building, accessing markets and credit, restructuring of extension and scaling up inter-linkages of development interventions (Salamanca, 2008).

2.3 The Importance of ICTs in Agriculture

The application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in agriculture is increasingly important. E-Agriculture is an emerging field focusing on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. More specifically, e-Agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in the rural domain, with a primary focus on agriculture. E-Agriculture is a relatively new term and

we fully expect its scope to change and evolve as our understanding of the area grows (Wikipedia, 2009).The main phases of the agriculture industry as stated in the encyclopedia are: crop cultivation, water management, fertilizer application, fertigation, pest management, harvesting, post harvest handling, transporting of food/food products, packaging, food preservation, food processing/value addition, food quality management, food safety, food storage, food marketing. All stakeholders of agriculture industry need information and knowledge about these phases to manage them efficiently. Any system applied for getting information and knowledge for making decisions in any industry should deliver accurate, complete, concise information in time or on time. The information provided by the system must be in user-friendly form, easy to access, cost-effective and well protected from unauthorized accesses.

By focusing on how agricultural extension can harness ICTs for improving rural livelihoods, we need to move beyond narrow understandings of agriculturally specific ICT applications. This change in focus causes us to recognize that any ICT intervention that improves the livelihoods of poor rural families will likely have significant direct and indirect impacts on enhancing agricultural production, marketing and post-harvest activities – which in turn can further contribute to poverty reduction (Richardson, 2006).There are no blueprint approaches for ICTs or magic bullet ICTs that will automatically improve rural livelihoods. Developing countries each have location-specific agricultural and rural development constraints and opportunities, and country-specific telecommunication constraints and opportunities. The skills and resources of stakeholders need to be harnessed to determine, plan and implement appropriate ICT interventions to improve rural livelihoods.

This is particularly important given two important trends:

the trend toward decentralizing, privatizing and pluralizing the delivery of extension, and the trend toward liberalizing telecommunication in favour of competitive, multi-service provider, multi-service market places.These two trends combine to provide opportunities to more effectively harness ICTs for extension and rural development policy, program and delivery synergies, provided that extensionists are able to move beyond an agriculture-specific role. Re-thinking organizational end goals in this way could prove a challenge for agricultural extension decision-makers and their organizations, but that challenge must be faced if ICTs are to be used effectively.

ICT interventions do not have to be specific to agriculture in order to enhance rural livelihoods or contribute to improved agricultural production. Indeed, a simple ICT intervention such as provision of an accessible rural payphone can play a significant role in enhancing the ability of poor rural families to continue, and perhaps enhance their contribution to national agricultural production and post-harvest activities (Richardson, 2006).There is scarcely a field of human activity today that has not been touched by the dramatic changes in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) taking place over the last 10-15 years. Agriculture and its associated natural resources management are no exceptions. (Winrock International, 2003) here-in outlines some trends and emerging ICT opportunities in the field, and offers some guidance on how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) division can build on its considerable experience to take advantage of ICTs effectively in development assistance. ICTs have a role in each of the key strategies outlined in USAID‟s “Future Directions in Agriculture” document. ICTs can help mobilize science and technology for agriculture by linking agricultural specialists into virtual communities and accelerating agricultural research exchange between developing and developed countries. They can help develop trade opportunities for farmers by linking smallholders into increasingly globalized production chains. ICTs can bridge the knowledge divide by permitting geographically distributed organizations to work together more effectively, allowing them to provide mutual mentorship and support. Finally, ICTs can support taking the long-term view, with tools for understanding and planning the future effects of today‟s economic and land use decisions.

The following points throw some light on the understanding of the place of ICTs in developing country agriculture as Winrock International (2003) observed:

Knowledge is an increasingly significant factor of production- Expanding the use of ICTs in developing country agriculture will demand a more active and empowered role for rural intermediate organizations. These organizations will increasingly act as local knowledge brokers: they will identify client needs and suitable knowledge management methods, and provide feedback on the quality of existing agricultural knowledge services as well as identify new ones.All actors in the agricultural sector are part of an evolving Agricultural Knowledge System (AKS).ICTs accelerate agricultural development by facilitating knowledge management for AKS members;ICTs are essential coordinating mechanisms in global trade. The vast majority of ICT applications in agriculture are still in pilot stages and are distinguished more by the agricultural development themes they address than by the donor funding them. ICT in general is highly relevant to improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry and improving quality of life and diversification of the rural economy. High-quality internet access is one of the tools which can unlock more of the potential of rural areas and make them more viable places for people to live. ICT helps existing rural businesses to perform tasks more effectively and efficiently and responds to their demand for rapid access to diverse kinds of information. It creates greater scope for new businesses to start up, and it makes it easier to deliver vital resources. Entrepreneurship and economic progress in rural areas could be strong if the economic environment is favourable. The rural-urban gap in broadband coverage, internet take-up and growth in use of technologies is still huge. The availability of applications and quality of service in rural areas are also lower.Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become a priority among developing nations, and play a significant role in supporting rural development. A core aspect associated with rural development is gender specific agriculture, which focuses on elevating women‟s contributions towards economic and social enhancement through agriculture. An investigation into the use of ICTs by rural women farmers reveals the constraints they face when it comes to taking advantage of such technologies. Studies within Africa and other developing countries illustrate that these constraints are particularly associated with the social and cultural limitations that women encounter in the traditional environments that characterize most developing countries. Local communities, government and non-governmental organizations should collaborate to devise policies and initiatives that can support the effective implementation and sustainability of ICT projects, and hence start to remove the barriers that limit the potential use of ICTs by rural women (Pade, Mallinson and Lannon, 2005).

ICTs play a key role in improving the availability of agricultural production and market information in developing countries. ICT-based market information systems have a proven track record for improving rural livelihoods in middle income developing countries where they have been introduced. However, these systems are generally limited in scale and have not been effectively replicated beyond the local level. Also, relatively few schemes exist in smaller countries that lack the economies of scale of an India or a China. Furthermore, while internet-based market information systems work well in more developed, literate markets, other media, such as mobile phones or community radio, could be appropriate alternatives in least developed countries (LDCs), especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Poor access to information and communication was one of the main reasons the original green revolution failed in Africa. However, the current mobile revolution in Africa offers real hope for a different outcome now. The rapid spread of mobile phones in Africa has transformed the continent, with mobile ownership now exceeding one-quarter of the African population at the end of 2007 (http://www.ICTand Agriculture )

Attempts to understand and improve the effectiveness of ICT adoption for agriculture have been at the forefront of national and regional policies ever since computers became available for agricultural management and production. European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and Environment, (EFITA) has been sharing these efforts via its conferences and the collection of data sets to identify ICT adoption constraints and trends over time. The 5th EFITA/WCCA conference hosted in Villa Real, Portugal addressed the results emanating from these data sets and the ongoing adoption efforts. It evaluated them via a plenary discussion of the question: Is ICT adoption for agriculture still an important issue? The overwhelming response from conference‟s participants asserted that ICT adoption for agriculture

and rural development remains a major national and international concern (Gelb and Parker, 2005).Commission of the European Community (COM) (2009) stated that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed the socio-economic environment of the EU over the last decade. The internet has become an integral part of people's lives, and a tool without which many enterprises could not exist and do business. The adoption and use of ICT are among the most significant factors determining productivity growth, accounting of 40% of Europe's production activity growth and 25% of EU GDP growth.

In recent years, the EU has become the largest market in the world with about half of its population, estimated at some 250 million people, regularly using the internet. Internet use has accelerated particularly over the last two years. At the same time, the public sector has been rolling out online public services and advancing in the use of ICT to deliver such services efficiently in education, health and public administration.

ICT in general is highly relevant to improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry and improving quality of life and diversification of the rural economy. High-quality internet access is one of the tools which can unlock more of the potential of rural areas and make them more viable places for people to live. ICT helps existing rural businesses to perform tasks more effectively and efficiently and responds to their demand for rapid access to diverse kinds of information. It creates greater scope for new businesses to start up, and it makes it easier to deliver vital resources. Entrepreneurship and economic progress in rural areas could be strong if the economic environment is favourable.

Despite the progress made in recent years, significant differences still exist between member States in terms of broad band coverage and take-up. Gaps in coverage and take-up

between their rural areas, and between rural and urban areas, are widespread and the pace of development differs. It has been estimated that by 2007 only 70% of the EU27 rural population was able to subscribe to a broadband connection as opposed to 98% of the population in urban areas. The bulk of the rural population receives poorer services at higher costs.

The WSIS declaration has recognized education, knowledge, Information and Communication as being at the core of human progress, endeavour and well-being. Further, ICTs have an immense impact on virtually all aspects of our lives. The rapid progress of these technologies opens completely new opportunities to attain higher levels of development. The capacity of these technologies to reduce many traditional obstacles, especially those of time and distance, for the first time in history makes it possible to use the potential of these technologies for the benefit of millions of people in all corners of the world (Uwadia, 2010). On this basis Research and Development (R & D) has these objectives to achieve in ICT in West Africa:

To bring ICT nearer to the people

To facilitate ease of use of ICT devises and facilities

To make ICTs more affordable

To increase ICT penetration and diffusion in Nigeria

To increase local content in the manufacture and production of ICTs

To develop indigenous, local capacity for sustainable development and advancement of national ICT initiatives.

To develop ICTs that are adapted and best suited to the local environment

To create employment opportunities through the expansion of local industry

To develop capacity for export of ICTs

2.4 Application of ICTs in Agricultural Ventures

Location differences usually occur in most economic activities the world over. These differences could be in terms of challenges and opportunities. The differences in these areas could be as a result of socio-economic factors (such as gender, type of vocation and educational status), as well as concentration of activities (such as urbanization and existence of markets). The application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to agriculture is no exception. ICT adoption for agriculture and rural development remains a major national and international concern (Ndag, Sanusi and Aigbekaen, 2007).

Computerizing broiler breeding

Modern breeding or genetic selection is a very complex endeavor. It is complicated due to the need to breed genetic lines simultaneously for several, sometimes conflicting, characteristics. It becomes evermore complicated due to the fact that attaining economically beneficial characteristics can have a negative genetic correlation with other characteristics involved in the breeding process. Synchronizing breeding and production involves employing advanced biometric procedures which in turn are dependent on manipulating large data sets – feasible only with powerful computing capacity. This in turn makes such expensive breeding without ICT inconceivable. The introduction of computers made genetic selection more efficient and enabled introducing more advanced, complicated selection models and data management programs. The future of poultry breeding is claimed to be in selection by “genetic markers”, a technique that is totally dependent on powerful computing capacity. The poultry breeding in this sense is in many respects similar to the modern procedures used for cattle, sheep, and other breeding programs (Eitan, 2009).Excess body heat is a cause of illness, of a higher rate of mortality and is apparently over time a factor affecting laying productivity and causing loss of fertility. Such heat related problems are augmented by excessive eating - characteristic to the modern broilers. In order to at least alleviate these problems it is imperative to monitor and control the temperature in the chicken growing facilities during the chick brooding. This new reality, together with the growing need to control the light intensity and its duration during pullet and broiler growing and egg production, created a worldwide trend to concentrate the modern poultry production in climate controlled, and eventually environmentally controlled buildings. In such buildings internal heat control is dependent on advanced ventilation systems which maintain optimum temperatures and humidity. The external temperatures outside the buildings and the internally generated heat from the chick/pullets/chickens are factored into this process. Monitoring and maintaining the desirable heat and humidity levels involves integrating multiple systems which include various monitors, ventilators, sprinklers, opening and closing of windows, curtains, heating elements and proper heat dissemination facilities. Advanced ICT is essential in order to monitor the relevant variables and integrate them in order to assure the necessary safety margins. These results, (Eitan, 2009) emphasized, can only be attained by using computers and computerized controllers.

Computerizing the incubating process

During the last decade a new constraint in broiler incubation had been identified. An excess of heat generated by the new genetically bred broilers while incubating, caused dramatic changes in hatcheries. Once again the genetic changes caused by breeding created an urgent need to change the management procedures. This time the dictate for this change was the result of increased heat generated by the embryos in the eggs. The remedial changes in incubation

facilities were focused on the ventilation procedures while incubating the modern broilers. Other changes included were changes in planning the daily temperature schedules in the hatching chambers, monitoring the CO2 levels during incubation and the weight loss of the hatching eggs during their incubation period.

Limiting water intake

In the past, water intake was unrestricted with unlimited access to water. As breeding became more sophisticated it became apparent that water intake must be controlled as well. The severe feed intake restrictions in the broiler breeder flocks induced excessive drinking to counter the feeling of hunger, and it began to appear in the broiler flocks as well. Excessive water intake is detrimental to health due to an unbalanced feed utilization and excess discharge of liquids and minerals. This in turn results in continuous damp litter related problems which aggravates existing health problems.One practical solution was to develop a new nipple drinker to dispense the allotted, limited water rations to the broilers. Another preferable solution which was adopted was to schedule and restrict the drinking hours in the broiler breeder flocks. Monitoring water availability periods and water quantities were consequently computerized. This in turn, as with feeding monitoring, provided real time data of water consumption and rate of water consumption. Over time it was realized that monitoring the amounts of water consumed provided an indication of health disorders and/or flock management problems. In order to refine water consumption control a new management parameter was calculated - the ratio between the average daily water and feed intakes. This relatively new parameter fluctuates less than the actual daily water consumption rate making decisions about “drinking hours” according to flock age and internal environmental temperature much easier. Consequently controlling water consumption became an important management tool supported with ICT supplied data sets. It became unfeasible in modern production units to make water related management decisions without them (Eitan, 2009).

Dairy farming systems

Dairy farming systems are probably the most complex of the agricultural production systems. In most other systems, involving plants and beef cattle, inputs and outputs occur a few times per year and they relate to one or two products. In contrast, the dairy system is one in which inputs and outputs are continuous: e.g. milk, births, deaths, sales or purchases of animals, feed and labor costs. The outputs of the dairy system are varied, milk, meat and surplus animals. They are the outputs of individual cows, the cost of which makes them individual production units that vary in performance. Maximizing revenue requires continuous decision making at both individual cows and herd levels, which can only be properly carried out on the basis of data evaluation, if one excludes situations in which freedom of choice is limited. This system internalized a wide range of sophisticated hardware and software, which required a large investment. The presence of such investments indicates that response to information flow is greater in the dairy farming system than in other components of the agricultural sector. This is true however only for certain categories of dairy systems and of hardware or software (http://www.agi.huji.acil/economics/gelb-farming-6.).

The modes of information transfer markedly changed with time. The father to son transfer of knowledge acquired from generation to generation was replaced by information transmitted verbally by bodies external to the farm. This approach was supported by extension services provided by university, government or framers‟ organizations, organized on a regional basis. Courses of short to medium duration, dedicated to specific subjects of particular importance made possible to overcome particular deficiencies of farming systems.

The advent of computer networks, further transformed information transfer methodologies. Information may be made available at government, university, and farmer‟s organizations websites. Access to information may become immediate as the need for it occurs, and may considerably reduce the time between the recognition of need for information and the access to it. The efficiency of this information transfer method depends however on the ability of end-user farmer. The farmer needs not only to recognize the presence of a problem, but also to be able to analyze the situation, to detect causes for the problem and to know where to turn for means to prevent them. It requires a farmer capable of making an efficient use of websites‟ resources, and of existing networks. It also requires a farmer capable of independently screening the available information for relevancy and applying the information gained. It also needs a farmer capable of critical thinking, to evaluate the efficiency of the means applied and to seek for alternatives, if needed, within a short time (http://www.agi.huji.acil/economics/gelb-farming-6.pdf).

ICT Adoption in Horticulture

Understanding and alleviating the constraints to ICT adoption are currently at the forefront of ICT for agricultural production and rural development. In adoption of ICTs in horticulture, Taragola and Gelb (2005) stated that currently horticultural enterprises are facing ever-growing international price and quality competition. Regardless they have to adhere to demanding social and environmental requirements within their traditional and new technologies. It is commonly accepted that enterprises can ensure their long-term survival and their acceptance by society only if they are able to create value for the consumer and the wider community of stakeholders. Knowledge and innovation processes are the very essence of creating value and

growth in turbulent markets. In this context ICT adoption can be considered as an important tool for value creation.

Although adoption of ICT in horticultural production is recognized as a problem, research on ICT adoption is very scarce. In several countries where such research was done it focused mainly on computer adoption for general agricultural production (Taragola and Gelb, 2005).

2.5 Women’s Access to ICTs

The drive for engendering the ICT environment dates back to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PfA), adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 (UNGASS, 2000). The PfA identified gender mainstreaming as a critical strategy for the advancement of women and the improvement of their quality of life. This process was expected to be applied to all arenas, including that of ICTs. The PfA drew attention to the emerging global communications network and its impact on public policies, and private attitudes and behaviour. It called for the empowerment of women through enhancing their skills, knowledge, access to and use of information technologies (Olatokun, 2007).

According to Shac (2009) information is universally acknowledged to be a means of sustainable and equitable development. In Africa, however, access to information is limited, and especially so for rural women. The need for information to be made directly relevant to the needs of rural women, whether in the areas of agriculture, health, micro enterprise, or education is the emphasis. The argument is that it is not enough for women simply to be passive participants in the development of ICTs in Africa. Women must also be decision-makers and actors in the process of using the new ICTs to accelerate African economic, social, and political development.

According to Munyua (2000) weak linkages between researchers, frontline workers and farmers have been a major constraint that has resulted in research findings not being applied by

poor rural farmers. ICTs can improve and strengthen these linkages to ensure that knowledge and information, which are essential for improving food security, are communicated to all stakeholders. Therefore, ICTs offer several opportunities for bringing different stakeholders involved in extension and breaking the traditional model extensionists to farmers. Emerging applications of interactive ICT tools in extension can improve the access to information and knowledge. Salamanca (2008) identified some areas in which the use of ICTs tools play a relevant potential in participatory research and extension. These areas are as stated bellow:

Decision-making process: ICTs tools can be used to gather valuable information for decision-making. For example, the use of cell phones in a village to inform partners about the existence of cassava mosaic disease in a specific location allow to make better decisions in interventions and helping farmers to control actions. Food security problems facing developing countries demonstrate the need for informed researchers, planners, policy makers, development

workers and farmers. Grunig, (1966) as cited by Salamanca (2003) argues, “Communicated information reduces the decision maker‟s cost of search for information relevant to his situation. The more information he has available - within constraints of the difficulty of the situation and his mental capacity-the better will be his expectations.”

Innovation systems: according to Spielman (2006) as cited by Salamanca (2008), an innovation system is a “set of interrelated agents, their interactions, and the institutions that

condition their behaviour with respect to the common objective of generating, diffusing, and utilizing knowledge and/or technology.” ICTs can help stakeholders share and learn from each others‟ good practices, experiment with tools and methodologies for knowledge sharing, create linkages and networks for future collaboration between the organizations, develop ideas to support and enhance knowledge sharing within and across organizations.

Empowering rural communities: ICTs are not the panacea for participation and empowerment of communities, but an interactive approach can help farmers become actors in their own development. The application of ICT solutions in all the stages of participatory farmer research facilitates the sharing and dissemination of scientific outputs and the listening of farmers.

On the other hand, several challenges and barriers can be identified such as the lack of infrastructure in developing countries, the need of skills associated to the use of new technologies by rural communities and stakeholders, the resistance of stakeholders involved in extension processes of these new tools, and the slow incorporation of these tools in rural communities. ICTs should be used as tools but they are not the final purpose of development interventions. Like other tools, successful results depend on many factors thus they are not the solution to extension problems but they can improve the interaction between stakeholders. Some of the questions that arise are: How does farmer‟s access to information and knowledge get increased using these tools? Does agricultural extension change because of ICTs? The need to consider the connection between empowerment and access to information and communication technologies was emphasized by Litho (2007). Much of the discourse on women and ICTs as Litho (2007) observed seems to indicate that as a result of using these technologies, marginalized groups like rural women can get empowered. There is however a need to question how empowerment can happen in a situation where access is limited or even non existent. In the recent past, ICTs have been added to the women and gender equality debate. ICTs are being presented as a tool having potential to benefit women‟s „empowerment‟ and a number of ICT projects that specifically target women have been established in several African countries.In Uganda several projects including the Council for the Economic Empowerment of Women of Africa (CEEWA) ICT project have been established. According to Litho (2007), CEEWA‟s belief is that without economic empowerment women‟s disadvantaged position will remain the same. Based on this principle, CEEWA set up an ICT project that targeted women entrepreneurs in 1997. Under this project, women were provided access to various ICTs at four sites, namely Buwama, Nabweru, Kampala and Mukono. The ICTs included computers, e-mail and internet services, telephones, fax, scanner, printer, photocopiers, radio, television. Women were also given business and agricultural information through a database driven website. The project developed ICT training materials as well as entrepreneurship training material on CD ROMs tailored to the needs of the local women. The materials were in audio-visual forms and were translated in the local language - Luganda. For women to take appropriate action to close gender gaps or inequalities there must be recognition that their problems stem from inherent structural and institutional discrimination. Participation (mobilization) is concerned with the extent to which women have been able to take part in decision-making processes alongside men.

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is also a non-governmental organization initiated in May 2000 by several women‟s organizations in Uganda to develop the use of ICTs among women as tools to share information and address issues collectively. The mission of WOUGNET is to promote and support the use of ICTs by women and women organizations in Uganda, so that they can take advantage of the opportunities presented by ICTs in order to effectively address national and local problems of Sustainable National Development. Primarily,

WOUGNET focuses on using mobile phones, e-mail and the web, and is interested in the integration of “traditional means” such as radio, video, and print in a way that it enables wider outreach (Wikipedia, 2009).Also, from the observations of Macueve, Mandlate, Ginger, Gaster and Macome, (2009), ICTs can empower women through enhancing participation in economic and social development and facilitating informed decision-taking. Scholars like Sharma (2003) and Stephen (2006) in Macueve et al (2009) also supported the fact that ICTs have the power to reach women who have been outside the ambit of other media and can facilitate communication among them and other dispersed networks, enabling them to mobilize, participate in debates and express themselves.However, further observations, according to Macueve et al (2009), prove that not all women can effectively benefit from some ICTs even if access does not constitute a constraint. A number of gender studies have shown that the main users of ICT (especially computers, Internet and e-mail) are young males, and that women are marginal users, suggesting a gap between discourse and the reality of women‟s empowerment through ICT.Women's access to information has become a major global concern. The measured access and lack of control over communications technology, the stereotypical portrayal of gender roles, and women's limited access to professional careers and decision-making positions in general highlight the urgent need for African women to enter the debate on the development potential and impact of ICTs. It is argued that supporting women‟s participation in the information economy would produce a range of benefits which will include increased creativity, expertise and competitiveness in the technology sector of a country hence facilitate a national information economy leading to increased productivity and economic growth.(http://awro.uneca.org/downloads/ICTs%20&%20Gender%20Issue%).

In most developing countries women make up a substantial portion of the lowest income groups and play a central role in the well-being of their family and community. The value of information to women is enormous, and affects all aspects of their lives. Increased access by women to the information and knowledge resources is important to development especially when one looks at the different roles women are envisaged to play which consist of the productive (food production and trading), reproductive (child care, subsistence agriculture, health care and education) and community (community infrastructure, water and sanitation and natural resource management) responsibilities. All these responsibilities put women at the center of national development. It has been observed that societies that discriminate by gender pay a high price in their ability to develop and to reduce poverty. It also demonstrates that eradicating poverty depends on improving the situation of women and increasing the efficiency of their work. In this way, any strategies to increase the participation of women in the information economy will increase national capacity, reduce poverty, and help to raise the standard of living.There is also a social divide which is the gap between the information rich and poor in societies, and the main focus of this divide looks at the rural-urban gap, the ethnic gap and the gender gap. Technology has become central to most public life through job opportunities, improved education, and strengthened community networks. However, those who have not been able to take advantage of these technologies in society face the challenge of increasing inequality. The social divide is especially acute for women, hence the gender divide – which refers to the digital gap that exists between women and men in society. The implications of this divide are that the society is deprived of access to training, scientific and technological job opportunities, capacity building and the participation of women. Some issues around gender and

technology, especially ICTs as identified by Pade, Mallinson and Lannon, (2005) are outlined bellow:

governments and development agencies treat technologies as neutral, value free tools and assume that the adoption of these technologies will naturally lead to development – government

and development agencies tend to ignore women‟s relationship to technology

women have unequal access to development resources (of which information has become a primary resource, like land and capital)

Telecommunications policies make no distinctions between the attitudes and needs of male and female users

New ICTs can marginalize men and women

Women likely to be slower in adopting the new technologies

Gender redistributive policies have characteristics that tend to create opposition and resistance as they challenge existing cultural norms, values and resource allocation. To make a gender strategy operational it is important to acknowledge these tension. There is no universal definition of what is a desirable outcome from a gender strategy in ICTs. Strategies for Africa must define goals and objectives in dialogue with all key actors and potential beneficiaries

Key actors themselves operate in gendered social and political contexts where the social value ascribed to, and interest of women and men are continuously negotiated.

This makes the project in bringing gender justice ICTs more complicated as there are no unifying definitions of the project, desired outcomes, and the consequences of achieving these outcomes.

Current literature emphasizes the active role of ICTs in the development process. It has been widely argued that ICTs have enormous potential for reaching rural populations to provide

them with education and training, job opportunities, access to markets and information important for their economic activities, as well as facilitating their participation in political processes. The poor, however, especially women, have limited access to and utilization of ICTs in their daily activities. This is primarily due to limited infrastructure and near to total absence of ICT access points in rural areas (Hafkin, 2002).

2.6 Constraints to ICT Ownership and Utilization

Information and communication technologies have become a priority among developing nations, and play a significant role in supporting rural development. A core aspect associated with rural development is gender specific agriculture, which focuses on elevating women‟s contributions towards economic and social enhancement through agriculture. An investigation into the use of ICTs by rural women farmers reveals that they face some constraints when it comes to taking advantage of such technologies. Studies within Africa and other developing countries illustrate that these constraints are particularly associated with the social and cultural limitations that women encounter in the traditional environments that characterize most developing countries. (Pade et al, 2005).In many societies women are the most impoverished with the least access to resources and with little control over decisions that affect their lives. For this reason, women are on the wrong side of the digital divide, with limited access to and control over ICTs (http://.gender IT-org.htm).

Also Salamanca (2008) was of the opinion that several challenges and barriers to ICT application can be identified such as: lack of infrastructure in developing countries, the need for skills associated with the use of new technologies by rural communities and stakeholders, the resistance to these new ICT tools by stakeholders involved in extension processes and slow incorporation of these ICTs in rural communities. There is also the digital divide between the developed and developing world in access to ICTs which is as a result of various factors beyond infrastructure, including poverty, lack of resources, illiteracy and low levels of education.

In developing countries there are various social problems, which create barriers to people owning and using telecommunications and ICTs. These problems, amongst others, include illiteracy, cultural barriers, lack of computer skills and technological know-how, lack of access to computers and computers networks as a result of the digital divide, no Internet access and lack of significant usage opportunities (http://cbdd.wsu.edu/kewlcontent/cdoutput/tr501/page62.htm).

In Nigeria, Arokoyo (2003) indicated that constraints that severely restrict the use of ICTs in agricultural extension are poor ICT infrastructure, erratic powers supplies, the high illiteracy among information users and low computer literacy of information providers. According to Obijiofor, Inayatullah and Stevenson, (2009) preliminary research on ICT adoption in Africa and the Asia-Pacific suggests that there are serious barriers to their use in educational and socioeconomic development, such as: issues of infrastructure support, access to the ICTs, training and skills development, and hierarchical social relations which determine who has access to ICTs.The implementation of ICTs is occurring in a context where the cultural and institutional barriers are not well addressed. The assumption often made is that if one just purchases a few computers and modems, a post-industrial society can magically result. Africans and those in the Asia-Pacific are generally in the position of consumers and thus in a position where they cannot yet define the media in their terms. At the same time, conservative attitudes entrenched in Asia-Pacific countries and concern over basic needs inhibit appreciation of the importance of new ICTs. For example, in Fiji and the Philippines, people believe ICTs are not the most important needs in their societies and that people can always find a way to get along if ICT use becomes a matter of "life and death" (Obijiofor et al 2009).