THE USE AND PERCEIVED IMPACT OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (MCT) IN BOTSWANA COMMERCIAL FARMING

There has been rapid development of mobile communication technology (MCT) in the last decade with Botswana having a tele density of 168 %, hence the need to find out if MCT is effectively used in agriculture. A sample of 36 commercial farmers answered a questionnaire. All commercial farmers in the study own at least one form of MCT device, the most common being mobile phone. In spite of ownership of such devices, commercial farmers do not adequately use MCT in their farm work as on average 53 % said they have used it in one form or another. The perceived impact of MCT in commercial farming is also not satisfactory as on average 50% of the farmers in the sample answered in the negative. The unsatisfactory use of MCT by farmers can be mitigated by having discussions with farmers and showing them the benefits of using MCT in their farm work.