ICTs, RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND FOOD SECURITY IN THE OKE-OGUN REGION OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are very important in the development of individuals, regional and national economy and food security. Despite the importance of ICTs, rural areas in the Oke-Ogun region of Oyo state were having issues with communication and accessing information technologies that may be attributed to their marginalisation which will definitely affect the food access of the entrepreneurs. It is therefore imperative to: examine the existing ICT facilities and infrastructure in rural areas of the Oke-Ogun region; examine the status of the ICT facilities in these areas; identify how information on new technology, products, raw materials and market price were accessed; and investigate the benefits and challenges of ICT on rural entrepreneurs in the region. Data were sourced through the primary and secondary means. Sampling methods adopted were multi-staged and purposive samplings whereby samples were drawn from all the LGAs, settlements and rural entrepreneurs in Oke-Ogun region, making a sample size of 250. Findings revealed that 51.2% of the rural areas in the region had no mobile network, 36.4% experienced fluctuation of network thereby hindering their access to vital information on new products, market price and/or raw materials. Those with GSM network service covered 10.0%. In addition, large number (39.2%) of the respondents got information majorly through rumors, radios, televisions, and telephones. This paper was concluded by recommending that the existing service stations should be boosted to extend GSM services to the rural areas, installation of masts to the rural areas of the region and the ruralites should go for devices with high network reception levels.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Adeniran, A. I. & Aristide, D. K. (2020). ICT and food security in Africa. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Anoemuah, R. A. (2019). Innovative ICT solutions and entrepreneurship development in rural area such as Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU) Community, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, Nigeria. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS), IV(X), 52-55.
Christy, R., Mabaya, E., Wilson, N., Mutambatsere, E. & Mhlanga, N. (2009). Enabling environments for competitive agro-industries. In C. Da Silva, D. Baker, A.W. Shepherd, C. Jenane and S. Miranda da Cruz. Agro-industries for development, Wallingford, UK, CABI, with FAO and UNIDO. pp. 136–185.
Clapp, J. (2016). Food 2nd Ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Clementine, M. T. & Shava, E. (2016). The prospects of the ICT policy framework for rural entrepreneurs: An analysis of the relationship between ICT and entrepreneurial development. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 8(5),159-168.
Doyle, S. (2008). Essential ICT for A-Level. US: Computer Literacy Press.
Ebo, I. O, Amosa, B. M. G. & Adenusi, D. A. (2012). Information and communication technology (ICT), and rural development in Nigeria. International Journal of Science and Advanced Technology 2(11),1-10.
FAO. (2013). State of food and agriculture: Food systems for better agriculture. Rome. www.fao.org>publications>sofa>2013
FAO. (2015). State of food insecurity in the world: meeting the 2015 international hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/policy-support/resources/resources-details/en/c/469455/
Hagyari, P., Bačík, R. & Fedorko, R. (2016). Analysis of the key factors of reputation management in conditions of city marketing. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 13(1).
Heinrich-Fernandes, M. (2016). How to create an enabling environment for inclusive business? Learning from experience and debates in private sector development. The Business Environment Working Group (BEWG) of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED). http://www.enterprise-development.org/implementing-psd/business-environment-reform/
International Labour Organization (2001). ICTs and enterprises in developing countries: Hype or opportunity? Seed Working Paper No. 17, pp. 1-30 Geneva: International Labour Office.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). (n. d). A global engine for knowledge building and transfer of world-class expertise. www.itu.org
Johnson, W.C. (2004). Public administration: Partnerships in public service, 3th ed., Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc.
Kamutuezu, E. U.,Winschiers-Theophilus, H. & Peters, A. (2021). An exploration of factors influencing the adoption of ICT enabled entrepreneurship applications in Namibian rural communities. Proceedings of the First Virtual Conference on Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development, 2021
Keller, D. & Kellermann, M. (2014). Analysis of donor practices in supporting Quality Infrastructure reforms. Working Paper, DCED. Available from: http://www.businessenvironment.org/dyn/be/docs/284/QIBestPractices_DCEDWorkingPaper_Final.pdf
Kigoni, C. W. & Ervin, H. N. (2010). ICTs, Infrastructure and Entrepreneurship, ICT and Development - Research Voices from Africa. International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Technical Commission 9 – Relationship Between Computers and Society. Workshop at Makerere University, Uganda. 22-23 March 2010.
Kyobe, M. (2011). Investigating the key factors influencing ICT adoption in South Africa. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 13(3), 255-267.
London School of Business and Management. (2016). Enterprise Education Alignment: Insights from a London University. LSBM Working Paper Series, 1(1), 11-18.
Nagamani, T. S. & Veni, G. K. (2016). ICTs for the empowerment of rural women: A review. International Journal of Computer Science and Technology, 7(2), 166-170.
Namubiru, M., Ngaka, W. and Picho, E. O. (2018). The effect of ICT on households’ food security in Uganda: Evidence from Acholi sub region in Northern Uganda. International Journal of Technology and Management, 3(1), 1-11.
National Bureau of Statistics. 2013. Annual abstract of statistics, 2011. Federal Republic of Nigeria. www.nigerianstat.gov.ng
National Population Commission. (2006). Distribution of population by size, class of households, number of households and sex. Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Nieman, G. & Nieuwenhuizen, C. (2009). Entrepreneurship: A new South Africa. 2nd ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Ogidan, J., Adekola, O., Emmanuel, G. & Okogun, O. (2017). ICT for good governance and socio-economic development in Nigeria. World Scientific News, 72, 522-534.
Ogunro, V. O. (2014). Nigeria’s business environment: Issues challenges and prospects. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 4(4), 132-138.
Okeke, N. M. (2014). Utilization of information and communication technology to enhance entrepreneurship in South-East, Nigeria. A Ph.D Thesis submitted to the Department of Adult Education and Extra-Mural Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Olaniyi, O. A. and Ismaila, K. O. (2016). Information and communication technologies (ICTs) usage and household food security status of maize crop farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria: Implications for sustainable development. University of Nebraska. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4019&context=libphilprac
Oyediran, K. K. (2014). The potentials of Ikere gorge dam in the transformation of Oke-Ogun region of Oyo State. Ind. J. Sci. Res. and Tech., 2(6), 48-55.
Oyediran, K. K. (2018). Food security through water management in Oke-Ogun region of Oyo State, Nigeria. Presented at the 5th National Conference of the School of Environmental Studies, The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Pramanik, J., Sarkar, B. & Kandar, S. (2017). Impact of ICT in rural development: Perspective of developing countries. American Journal of Rural Development, 5(4), 117-120.
The get help investment Nigeria. (2019). National free ICT training across the 36 states of the federation. https://chat.whatsapp.com/JnMQVJ8xcfL5AiXaXtNqV
Timmons, J. & Spinelli, S. (2004). New venture creation entrepreneurship for 21st Century. 6th ed. Irwin: McGraw Hill.
Uchegbu, S. N. (2002). Issues and strategies in environmental planning and management in Nigeria. Nigeria: Spotlite Publishers.
USAID. (2012). Information and communications technology (ICT) addressing climate change impacts on infrastructure: Preparing for change. Fact Sheet, November 2012. www.climatechange@usaid.gov
USAID. (2016). Enabling environment overview. https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/business-. Date of access: 24 June 2016.
Vignesh, A., Sasikumar, M. & Devi, S. (2018). The role of ICT in rural development. International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science Applications and Management Studies, 7(5), 1-4.
World Bank (2002). Information and communication technologies in agriculture. Rural Development Department, Draft. Unpublished August, 2003.
https://www.getamap.net/maps/nigeria/(general)/okeogun. (n. d). Maps from all the World (latitude and longitude.
Zimmerman, J. (2008). Refining the definition of entrepreneurship. Michigan: ProQuest.