1. Home
  2. Vol 14, No 2 (2026)
  3. Ringera

Socioeconomic Factors Associated with the Use of Smart Digital Platforms for Agricultural Extension Services among Farming Households in Central Kenya

Anestine M. Ringera, Hezron R. Mogaka, Florence K. Kirimi, Scholastica K. Mutungi

Abstract


Persistent inefficiencies in agricultural extension in Kenya, particularly within Afromontane agroecosystems, have hindered information dissemination among farming households. Smart digital platforms (SDPs) offer scalable, cost-efficient extension access, yet uptake remains limited. This study examined socioeconomic and access-related correlates of SDP use among 393 farming households across four purposively selected counties in the Central Kenya highlands, using a cross-sectional, multistage sampling design. Awareness of SDPs was a virtual precondition for use: none of 287 unaware households reported use, versus 34.9% of 106 aware households (χ² = 61.19, p < 0.001); overall, 37 of the 393 households (9.4%) reported using at least one SDP. A Multivariate Probit model estimated on the aware subsample by composite likelihood, with a ridge penalty, showed platform-specific associations: age and education favored iShamba use, education also favoured Apollo Agriculture use, gender effects diverged by platform, land size favoured DigiFarm/e-Kilimo use, and farmer-group extension access was negative for iShamba use. Cross-equation correlations were not statistically significant (LR = 8.65, p = 0.194). The study recommends prioritizing awareness-building alongside platform-specific, gender-responsive digital-literacy and extension strategies.

Keywords


Smart digital platforms; Agricultural extension; Farming households’; Socioeconomic factors; Afromontane agroecosystems; Kenya

References


Abdulai, A.R., Tetteh Quarshie, P., Duncan, E. and Fraser, E. 2023. Is agricultural digitization a reality among smallholder farmers in Africa? Unpacking farmers' lived realities of engagement with digital tools and services in rural Northern Ghana. Agriculture and Food Security, 12(1): 1-14.

Addison, M., Kwadzo, B., Pinamang, P., Abawiera, C. and Kwarteng, T. 2023. Key drivers of adoption intensity of selected improved rice technologies in rural Ghana. Scientific African, 19: e01544.

Ajzen, I. 1991. The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2): 179-211.

Ajzen, I. 2020. The theory of planned behavior: Frequently asked questions. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(4): 314-324.

Balogun, A.L., Adebisi, N., Abubakar, I.R., Dano, U.L. and Tella, A. 2022. Digitalization for transformative urbanization, climate change adaptation, and sustainable farming in Africa: Trend, opportunities, and challenges. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 19(1): 17-37.

Betela, B. and Wolka, K. 2021. Evaluating soil erosion and factors determining farmers' adoption and management of physical soil and water conservation measures in Bachire watershed, southwest Ethiopia. Environmental Challenges, 5: 100348.

Bhat, C.R. 2011. The maximum approximate composite marginal likelihood (MACML) estimation of multinomial probit-based unordered response choice models. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 45(7): 923-939.

Bonilla, J.D., Coombes, A., Romney, D. and Winters, P.C. 2024. Changing the logic in agricultural extension: Evidence from a demand-driven extension programme in Kenya. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 16(1): 118-141.

Cochran, W.G. 1977. Sampling Techniques. 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons.

Communications Authority of Kenya. 2024. Report on Quality-of-Service (QoS) Performance by Mobile Network Operators, FY 2022/2023. Communications Authority of Kenya.

Cox, D.R. and Reid, N. 2004. A note on pseudolikelihood constructed from marginal densities. Biometrika, 91(3): 729-737.

FAO. 2024. Hand-in-Hand Initiative Country Profile: Kenya. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Firth, D. 1993. Bias reduction of maximum likelihood estimates. Biometrika, 80(1): 27-38.

Karanja, L., Gakuo, S., Kansiime, M., Romney, D., Mibei, H., Watiti, J., Sabula, L. and Karanja, D. 2020. Impacts and challenges of ICT based scale-up campaigns: Lessons learnt from the use of SMS to support maize farmers in the UPTAKE project, Tanzania. Data Science Journal, 19(1): 1-8.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). 2024. Economic Survey 2024. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Nairobi.

Khatri, A., Lallawmkimi, M.C., Rana, P., Panigrahi, C.K., Minj, A., Koushal, S. and Ali, M.U. 2024. Integration of ICT in agricultural extension services: A review. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 46(12): 394-410.

Krell, N.T., Giroux, S.A., Guido, Z., Hannah, C., Lopus, S.E., Caylor, K.K. and Evans, T.P. 2021. Smallholder farmers' use of mobile phone services in central Kenya. Climate and Development, 13(3): 215-227.

Kyambo, O., Kilungo, J. and Amwata, D. 2021. The influence of selected socio-economic factors on farmers' awareness of devolution of agricultural extension services in Kitui County, Kenya. American Journal of Agriculture, 3(1): 1-20.

Mapiye, O., Makombe, G., Molotsi, A., Dzama, K. and Mapiye, C. 2021. Towards a revolutionized agricultural extension system for the sustainability of smallholder livestock production in developing countries: The potential role of ICTs. Sustainability, 13(11): 5868.

Mapiye, O., Makombe, G., Molotsi, A., Dzama, K. and Mapiye, C. 2023. Information and communication technologies (ICTs): The potential for enhancing the dissemination of agricultural information and services to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Information Development, 39(3): 638-658.

Mariyono, J., Santoso, S.I., Waskito, J. and Utomo, A.A.S. 2022. Usage of mobile phones to support management of agribusiness activities in Indonesia. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 74(1): 110-134.

Mugisha, B., Agole, D. and Ewing, J.C. 2025. Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices among farmers in Sheema District, Western Uganda. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 32(2): 204-222.

Ngaiwi, M.E., Molua, E.L., Sonwa, D.J., Meliko, M.O., Bomdzele, E.J., Ayuk, J.E., Castro-Nunez, A. and Latala, M.M. 2023. Do farmers' socioeconomic status determine the adoption of conservation agriculture? An empirical evidence from Eastern and Southern Regions of Cameroon. Scientific African, 19: e01498.

Novak, A., Alif, Ž., Juvančič, L. and Šumrada, T. 2025. What affects farmers' intention to learn about sustainability in online settings? An application of the extended theory of planned behaviour in Slovenia. Journal of Rural Studies, 114: 103548.

Nyagango, A.I., Sife, A.S. and Kazungu, I. 2023. Factors influencing the use of mobile phone for accessing agricultural marketing information by grape smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Cogent Business and Management, 10(3): 1-21.

Okello, D.M., Akite, I., Atube, F., Kalule, S.W. and Ongeng, D. 2023. Examining the relationship between farmers' characteristics and access to agricultural extension: Empirical evidence from northern Uganda. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 29(4): 439-461.

Raghunath, A., Metzger, A., Easton, H., Liu, X.M., Wang, F., Wang, Y., Zhao, Y., Mpogole, H. and Anderson, R. 2024. eKichabi v2: Designing and scaling a dual-platform agricultural technology in rural Tanzania. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings.

Singh, N.K., Sunitha, N.H., Tripathi, G., Saikanth, D.R.K., Sharma, A., Jose, A.E. and Mary, M.V.K.J. 2023. Impact of digital technologies in agricultural extension. Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics and Sociology, 41(9): 963-970.

Steinke, J., van Etten, J., Müller, A., Ortiz-Crespo, B., van de Gevel, J., Silvestri, S. and Priebe, J. 2021. Tapping the full potential of the digital revolution for agricultural extension: An emerging innovation agenda. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 19(5-6): 549-565.

Sumo, T.V., Ritho, C. and Irungu, P. 2022. Effect of farmer socio-economic characteristics on extension services demand and its intensity of use in post-conflict Liberia. Heliyon, 8(12): e12268.

Tabe-Ojong Jr., M.P., Abate, G.T., Abay, K.A. and Spielman, D.J. 2023. Digital innovations and agricultural transformation in Africa: Lessons from Kenya. In: Food Systems Transformation in Kenya: Lessons from the Past and Policy Options for the Future, pp. 469-492. International Food Policy Research Institute.

Wang, Y., Xu, G., Cao, J., Chen, Y. and Wu, J. 2025. Does digital literacy affect farmers' adoption of agricultural social services? An empirical study based on China Land Economic Survey data. PLOS ONE, 20(4): e0320318.

Wayagi, E.O., Otieno, D.J., Nyikal, R.A., Okello, J.J. and Kawarazuka, N. 2025. Gender-age differences in the use of ICT platforms among potato farmers in Kenya. Cogent Food and Agriculture, 11(1).

Xu, A., Mohd Radzi, N.A., Liu, Y. and Sieng, L.W. 2026. The role of digital literacy in agricultural technology adoption and efficiency: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 18(2): 1138.


Full Text: PDF

DOI: 10.33687/ijae.014.02.6240

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 ANESTINE Mukiri RINGERA, Hezron Rasugu Mogaka, Florence Kaumi Kirimi, Scholastica Kavata Mutungi

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.