Gender and Generational Inequalities in ICT Adoption for Agricultural Decision-Making in KwaZulu-Natal

Author

Joseph Ntabeni Jere, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Published in

IST-Africa 2026 Conference Proceedings

ISSN: 2576-8581

ISBN: 978-1-905824-76-2

DOI: https://doi.org/10.67725/IST-Africa.2026.JDHM2682

Publisher

IST-Africa Institute and IIMC International Information Management Corporation Ltd

Published in Ireland

Abstract

This paper examines the demographic determinants of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption among smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using a survey of 517 farmers across 14 sites, we analyze how age, gender, formal education, and farming experience influence the uptake of mobile agriculture tools (mobile messaging, voice services, SMS advisories, weather, and market information). Logistic regression results replicate the original dataset: males are 2.142 times more likely than females to adopt ICTs, and older age groups have significantly lower odds of adoption; formal education and farming experience are non-significant. Cronbach's alpha reliability scores (0.764; 0.73; 0.749) indicate acceptable internal consistency. We situate these findings within recent mAgriculture and sustainability literature and offer policy-relevant recommendations to increase inclusive ICT uptake and to leverage digital tools for environmental sustainability.

Keywords

ICT adoption; mAgriculture; smallholder farmers; environmental sustainability; digital inclusion

Cite this paper

J.N. Jere (2026) "Gender and Generational Inequalities in ICT Adoption for Agricultural Decision-Making in KwaZulu-Natal", IST-Africa 2026 Conference Proceedings, Miriam Cunningham and Paul Cunningham (Eds), IST-Africa Institute and IIMC, 2026, ISSN: 2576-8581, ISBN: 978-1-905824-76-2, https://doi.org/10.67725/IST-Africa.2026.JDHM2682

Access Paper

Click here to access this paper

IST-Africa Community Members can download papers by logging into their existing account.

If you wish to become a member of IST-Africa Community, please register your profile and you will then receive login details which you can use to access the papers.

Access to papers in the IST-Africa 2026 Conference Proceedings is for INDIVIDUAL USE only. Neither the Conference Proceedings (or individual double blind peer reviewed papers) are to be included in any public or institutional repository or processed in the context of any AI tool or large language model without prior written permission from the Publishers.

While the IST-Africa Institute and IIMC retain copyright of the Conference Proceedings, each author retains copyright to their individual paper. No paper or part thereof may be reproduced without the written permission of both the Conference Proceedings Publishers and appropriate author(s).