CONTRIBUTION OF MOBILE PHONES AND RADIO IN DISSEMINATING, ACCESSING AND RETAINING SUGAR MARKET INFORMATION BY SUGAR COMPANIES,WESTERN KENYA

The focus of the study was to determine the contributions of mobile phones and radio in disseminating, accessing and retaining sugar market information by millers in Western Kenya. The specific companies covered were Nzoia Sugar Company, West Kenya Sugar Company, and Butali Sugar Mill The study population included employees of the corporations within the respective marketing departments, specifically managers. A randomly selected sample of 120 respondents was used on the basis of subgroups of each specific sugar company with equal representation. Stratified sampling was applied to treat the population into strata. Simple random sampling was applied to select individual respondents. Correlation research design was adopted to generate both qualitative and quantitative data. Questionnaires facilitated data collection after piloting instruments at Chemelil Sugar Company limited. The data was coded, edited and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. A chi-square helped to establish differences in responses. The results were presented graphically in tables and charts. Evidently, mobile Phones were commonly used in transmitting sale transactions through making calls, SMS, send or receive money, photography, videotaping and advertising. This tool influenced sugar sales positively with 16.7% reporting higher sales, 71.7% average sales, those not sure were 10.0%, while 0.8% realized low sales. Also, radio services had a significant influence with majority (85.0%) of respondents saying that radio services attracted more customers. Vernacular radio services were the most used in the dissemination and retention of sales information, followed by national radio services and finally international radio services. Accordingly, sugar companies have embraced technology and realized increased sales volumes and faster transaction speed.