Factors that influence farmers decision to adopt IOT sensing and monitoring greenhouse farming solutions in Kenya: a case study of illuminum green house

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the factors that influence farmers to adopt IoT sensing and monitoring solutions, how they affect and what can be done in order to scale up the technology beyond the early adopters and maximize the potential of IoT when applied in an agricultural setting. The research looked into how the independent variables; individual factors, social factors, product-related factors and technical factors affect the adoption of IoT technology in farming in Kenya by smallholder farmers. The study further looked into the effect of the moderating variables age and gender on the relationship between the individual factors, social factors and the adoption of IoT in farming. Research design: The research design employed in this study was a quantitative type of research. Methodology: The study adopted the quantitative type research design with a purposive sampling technique only since the research design consisted of only 10 participants. The sample size was 10 farmers thus all members were selected for the study. The research instrument adopted for collection was a structured questionnaire. Research Findings: The research findings showed that the technical factors contribute to the adoption of IoT technology in farming. It has a strong, positive and significant contribution. The Individual, Social and Product related Factors don’t have a statistically significant contribution to the adoption of IoT in farming. The research findings further showed that age and gender significantly moderated the relationships between Individual Factors and Adoption of IoT technology as well as that between the Social Factors and Adoption of IoT in farming. The research concluded that the individual factors moderated with age and gender, social factors moderated with age and gender and technical factors contribute to the adoption of IoT technology in farming by small holder farmers.