Attitudes towards mobile digital recordkeeping among smallholder sheep farmers in the Nama-Karoo Biome, South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i36.24980Keywords:
smallholder farming, sheep farming, recordkeeping, mobile digital application (app), technology adoption, digital skills, Nama-Karoo Biome, South AfricaAbstract
Mobile digital technologies can be enablers of improved sustainability in smallholder livestock production systems, yet their use for farm recordkeeping in such systems remains under-examined. This study investigated the existing recordkeeping practices, and attitudes towards a proposed mobile digital recordkeeping application (app), among 53 smallholder sheep farmers in the Eden and Central Karoo Districts of South Africa’s Nama-Karoo Biome. Data collected through a semi-structured questionnaire revealed that the farmers’ recordkeeping relied mainly on memory (43%), loose paper notes (43%), and organised notebooks (25%). Only 8% used computer-based records. Nearly 90% of respondents expressed their willingness to adopt the proposed mobile recordkeeping app, and the vast majority agreed that the app could improve their recordkeeping (90% agreement) and decision-making (87% agreement). Opinions on the app’s user-friendliness were more mixed, with 66% agreeing that it was user-friendly, 25% saying they were undecided, and 8% disagreeing. With respect to the potential limitations of the app, just over half (51%) of the farmers cited lack of digital skills and training as a limitation, with smaller percentages pointing to limitations posed by poor network connectivity (26%) and insufficient cashflow (23%) to buy mobile data. The findings thus point to the need for improved app user-friendliness, increased digital skills development, and, to a lesser extent, better network connectivity and more affordable data, if there is to be widespread adoption of the mobile digital recordkeeping app among the farmers who participated in the study.
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