ICT-based agricultural extension and advisory service in Ethiopia: a review
Atrsaw Anteneh Mihretie, Adane Melak
Abstract
Agriculture is a critical sector of Ethiopia’s economy and requires efficient and innovative methods to meet the information needs of smallholder farmers, who are the backbone of the sector. The country’s agricultural activity is dominated by smallholder farmers. Farmers need information along the agricultural value chain on what to grow, how to grow it, and when and to whom to sell it for maximum profit. Therefore, agricultural extension services could play a key role in meeting the information needs of farmers to implement good agricultural practices. Information Communication Technology (ICT)-based agricultural extension service is an emerging extension modality due to the expansion of communication technology in the country. Therefore, this review addresses the status and effectiveness of ICT-based agricultural extension and advisory services in Ethiopia. Based on an empirical literature review radio, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Short Message Service (SMS) are the major ICT-based Agricultural extension and advisory services delivery. It has massively contributed to providing timely, relevant, and consistent information not only to the farmers but also to the wholesalers, and retailers. In particular, since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, ICT-based extension services have been widely used as an agricultural extension delivery tool. Despite the progress, the application of ICT in agricultural extension and advisory services in Ethiopia is still in its infancy. Therefore, development actors should focus on infrastructure development, digital literacy programs, content localization and diversification, and installation of ICT kiosks using a public-private partnership approach.