https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2228-8386
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ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the factors influencing the perceived performance impact (PPI) of mobile phone use in agriculture. Based on the Technology-to-Performance chain (TPC) model, an interviewer-administered cross-sectional survey was conducted among 250 smallholder farmers in Uganda. Descriptive statistics were generated in SPSS to characterise the respondents and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was conducted in SmartPLS 4 to predict the hypothesised relationships. The results show that both perceived task Technology fit (PTTF) and current mobile phone use predict PPI, with PTTF being a stronger predictor of PPI. PTTF is best explained by task characteristics, while respondents’ current mobile phone use is strongly influenced by social norm. This study advances the TPC model and contributes to understanding the factors and strategies that can be leveraged to enhance perceived performance impacts of mobile phones among smallholders. They are useful for researchers, policy makers, mobile phone application developers and agricultural practitioners.
REVIEWING EDITOR:
Authors’ contributions
NOA: Conceptualization, data curation, investigation, initial analysis, formal analysis, methodology, writing-original draft, writing, review, and editing, funding acquisition; AOA: Conceptualization, investigation, methodology, initial analysis, review, and editing; WO: writing, review, and editing, supervision; HDS: Conceptualization, methodology, initial analysis, writing, review, and editing, supervision, funding acquisition.
Disclosure statement
The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
Ethical approval statement
According to local legislation, the study involving human subjects did not require ethical review or permission because all data were anonymized.
Geolocation information
The study was conducted in Gulu district, which is in Northern Uganda with GPS coordinates of 2° 46’ 20.6544’’ N and 32° 17’ 17.0628’’ E, and an elevation of 1114.036. The latitude of Gulu is 2.772404, and the longitude is 32.288073.
Informed consent statement
Both oral and written informed consent were provided by each respondent to participate in the survey.
Data availability statement
Data will be made available on request.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Nathaline Onek Aparo
Nathaline Onek Aparo is an agricultural and rural development specialist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from Gulu University, Uganda, and a joint degree of International Master of Science in Rural Development from Ghent University, Belgium, Pretoria University, South Africa, and the University of Pisa, Italy. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Marketing, Ghent University, and the Department of Agribusiness and Rural Development, Gulu University, Uganda. Her research work is focused on “leveraging mobile phone technology to improve smallholder agricultural productivity” and crosses the fields of behavioral Economics, Quantitative social research, Agricultural- and socio-economics.
Alice Onek Atimango
Alice Onek Atimango is currently a PhD researcher at the Division of agrifood marketing and chain management, Department of agricultural economics, Ghent University. She holds an International Master of Science in Rural development of the same university and a Bachelor degree in agriculture from Gulu University in Uganda. Alice’s research interest is in the fields of agricultural and social economics, agriculture and rural development and agrifood chain actors’ behavior towards novel technologies in agriculture especially in the developing country context. Her current research work is focused on “gene editing in agriculture from a socioeconomic perspective”.
Walter Odongo
Walter Odongo holds a Ph.D. in Applied biosciences (Agricultural economics) from Ghent University and a Master of Science in Agricultural and applied economics from Makerere University. He is a Senior Lecturer of Agricultural Economics at the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Gulu University, Uganda. Walter has 15 years of experience in training, capacity building, Agri-entrepreneurship development, and research in developing country contexts. His research interest is in the fields of agribusiness supply chain management, agricultural and rural development, agricultural economics, and community engagement. He has managed over ten projects and published over 20 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals.
Hans De Steur
Prof. Dr. Hans De Steur is currently an assistant professor in Quantitative Research Methods in socio-economics at the Division of Agri-food Marketing & Chain Management, Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University. He holds a master’s degree in Sociology and in Economics and Business Administration. In 2011, he finished his Ph.D., which focused on the market potential of biofortification. His current research is situated in the field of agri-food marketing and socio-economic analysis, with a focus on consumer and stakeholder behavior and impact analysis of innovations and technologies. He was and is involved in various multidisciplinary research projects and has multiple publications in top-tier journals in different research domains.