Access and usage of e-Extension Services among Smallholder farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are faced with low agricultural productivity and need access to timely, relevant and cost effective agricultural information through effective and efficient extension service delivery. This study determined ICT resources accessed and used by smallholder farmers to access e-extension services in Nakuru county, Kenya. Data were collected from randomly selected sample of smallholder farmers in a descriptive survey, using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Over 70 percent of the respondents had access to mobile phones, radio and TV while only 27.7 percent had access to the internet. The respondents that had access to YouTube, twitter and computers however, were less than 20 percent. The findings of the study revealed a significant (P<0.05) influence between access to ICT resources and usage of e-extension services among smallholder farmers. It is therefore, concluded that the accessible ICTs can be used to provide e-extension services to smallholder farmers. Creation of awareness on availability of e-extension services however, needs to be promoted more widely. Keywords: Agricultural information, e-Extension services, Kenya, smallholder farmers