Determining the Impacts of ICT Usage amongst Agricultural Producers: An Analysis

The aim of this study is to determine the potential impact of ICT usage amongst agricultural producers. This study is limited to eight (8) commodities such as rice, beef, chicken, mutton, fish, fruits, vegetables and milk in line with the food groups identified in the Malaysian Third National Agricultural Policy (NAP3) food production plan. The methodology used both secondary and primary data. It was conducted within the agriculture sector with assistance from various agencies concerned. A total of 353 respondents were selected where set of structured questionnaires were distributed via face-to-face interviews. The results of this study reveal that the types of ICT usage commonly used among agricultural farmers are Email, Blog, and Portal. Descriptive results also showed that respondents generally agreed on ICT having the strongest impact on information gathering and networking. Although ICT provided those impacts, the farmers nevertheless felt that it is expensive and knowledge is needed to improve on their ICT skills. Demographic factors such as age and income furthermore could hinder them from using ICT.

کلیدواژه ها:

ICT ، ICT usage ، ICT impac ، Agriculture sector