Horticultural crops information dissemination in Kenya using mobile application

Abstract

In Kenya some horticultural crops are rarely grown because farmers lack information on growing them. The research has established that unreliable sources of pre-harvest information have greatly affected the production of strawberry and mushroom in the country. This study aimed at developing a mobile application which can assist strawberry and mushroom farmers in Kenya by providing them with pre-harvest information about the crops. The study also sought to provide a way of accessing the information by farmers efficiently and effectively. This study outlines the development of a mobile application which contains information on Strawberry and Mushroom crops. Various categories of the two crops were developed and their details given. This was to ensure that farmers could easily access the information they need regarding the crops. Use of videos and images was integrated in the application for ease of understanding the concepts. The study found out that horticultural farmers can use the developed mobile application effectively considering the findings of the usability subscales evaluated of efficiency, affect, control, learn ability and helpfulness.