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The Role of Information and Communications Technologies in Agricultural Risk Management in Owerri Agricultural Zone, Imo State, Nigeria

Ani, A.O., Chikaire, J.U., Ogueri, E.I. & Orusha, J.O.

The aim of the study was to describe the role of information and communications technologies on agricultural risk management in Owerri Agricultural Zone. The objectives of the study were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area, identify agricultural risks faced by the farmers, describe the role of information and communications technologies in managing farm risks, identify the constraints to use of information and communications technologies by farmers in managing agricultural risks and to identify agricultural risk management strategies used by farmers in the study area. The data were collected through questionnaire distributed to 120 respondents, where eight farmers were randomly selected from the fifteen villages that make up the area. Percentages, frequency distribution tables, mean scores, Likert scale and ranking were used to analyze the data. Results showed that most of the farmers (80 percent) face pests and diseases outbreaks in their agricultural activity. Other major agricultural risks faced by the farmers in the area are fluctuating market prices, soil erosion and bad weather. The main role of information and communications technologies in managing the farmers’ agricultural risks is to channel information to the farmers who are difficult to reach. The major constraint to the use of information and communications technology by the farmers in managing their farm risks was the unavailability and inaccessibility of the information and communications technology tools. Some of the strategies used by the farmers to manage their agricultural risks were; use of diversifying crop varieties, diversification of their enterprises and planting at optimal time. Some recommendations made include; that government should coordinate management and provision of information to the farmers, services should be rendered to the farmers at a relatively low cost, government should provide information and communications technology devices for the farmers and make the devices more accessible.