Awareness and adoption of agricultural ecommerce applications by smallholder farmers in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province

Abstract

Farming practices in the rural areas are often indeed by limited access to markets, low digital literacy and infrastructure, which have an effect on the productivity and profitability for smallholder farmers. The study’s aim was to address these issue through assessing the awareness and adoption of ecomerce applications tailored for agricultural practices by smallholder farmers in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. The study applied a mixed method approach, where qualitative and quantitative data is collected from 114 smallholder farmers. The data collected comprises of socioeconomic characteristic factors like gender, education, digital literacy, and an evaluation was conducted to determine factors that affect their uptake on agricultural based ecommerce apps. The results of the study showed a high level of awareness regarding agricultural ecommerce applications, even so, there remains persistent obstacles. Lack of digital literacy, insufficient resources to invest in new technologies and limited access to extension services are the contributing factors that hinder adoption wiliness. However, the study reveals that there is a potential for ecommerce adoption by farmers as most of them are young and spend more time interacting with the internet. The study’s finding reveal the importance of digital technologies for agricultural extension services and recomment policies that prioritize gender inclusiveness, creating mentorship programs that are tailored for these farmers and diversifying income. Therefore, is it crucial to improve digital literacy by equipping smallholder farmers with with skills that play a role in them adopting ecommerce applications to theirr farming activities, this will enhace sustainability, productivity and a wide market reach.