ICTs, Rural Entrepreneurship and Food Security in the Oke-Ogun Region of Oyo State, Nigeria
| Main Authors: | Kayode Kunle Oyediran, Abdulkarim Abdulmumin Manga |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article Journal |
| Bahasa: | eng |
| Terbitan: |
, 2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/6464696 |
Daftar Isi:
- 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 level.