Impacts of ICT-Based Weather and Market Information Delivery on Pepper Producers’ Farmers’ Income: Evidence from Wera Woreda, Halaba Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Limited access to timely agricultural information remains a major constraint affecting productivity and market participation of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide new opportunities for delivering weather forecasts and market information that support farm decision-making and income improvement. This study examined the impact of ICT-based weather and market information delivery on the income of pepper-producing smallholder farmers in Wera Woreda, Halaba Zone, Ethiopia.
A mixed research approach was employed using cross-sectional data collected from 174 randomly selected households consisting of ICT users and non-users. Primary data were gathered through structured household surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, while secondary data were obtained from institutional reports and published sources. Descriptive statistics and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) were applied to estimate the causal impact of ICT utilization on household income.
Results show that mobile phones, radio, and television were the dominant channels through which farmers accessed agricultural information. Logit model results indicate that education level, training exposure, frequency of extension contact, distance to market, and farmers’ behavioral characteristics significantly influenced ICT adoption. The PSM estimation revealed that ICT use increased household income of pepper producers by approximately 54.29 percent compared to non-users. However, several constraints limited effective utilization, including inadequate localized weather forecasts, limited ICT skills, language barriers, high service costs, and weak rural infrastructure.
The study concludes that ICT-enabled advisory services significantly enhance farmers’ income by improving market participation and climate-related decision-making. Strengthening rural ICT infrastructure, localized information delivery, and farmer training programs is essential to sustain these benefits.