Farmers Information Matrix:

Abstract

For over a decade Information Communications Techno logy (ICT) has come to dominate daily life around the globe. Whether it is for financial information, markets, news, general knowledge or simply entertainment, the ease and speed of communication has grown phenomenally. The most obvious manifestation of ICT is with PC’s and the internet, but ICT is also much more than this. Communication is at the heart of ICT and no other device in history has enabled more effective communication to so many people than the mobile phone. Possession of a mobile phone used to be viewed partly as a status symbol, a sign of affluence, but, far from being for the wealthier in society, mobile phone technology is a revolutionary development that allows affordable connectivity throughout the world. Although this technology is new, the developing world has not been slow to take advantage and Africa, for example, has some of the highest subscriber growth figures (Warden & N'getich, 2007). There is a danger, however, that much of this growth is taking place in the urban centres and that the rural populations may get left behind to suffer information-poverty