Journal Article
Information and communication technologies are commonly acknowledged as the best means of
knowledge and information acquisition for socio-economic growth in rural areas of developing
countries. The study was carried out to generate information on the socio-economic
characteristics of agro-pastoralists, sources of production information, type of information and
communication technology obtained, the level of utilization and effect of information and
communication technology on the agro-pastoral system. The study adopted a combination of
cross-sectional and case study designs. Data were generated through direct administration of
structured questionnaires to 407 agro-pastoralists, key informants interview that involved
managers from Rural-ICT Service Providers (RISP) and village extension officers.
Results show that seventy percent (70%) of the agro-pastoralists contacted were men, with the
higher proportion of ages ranging between 18-34 years followed by 35-54 years old. 62.4% of
sample agro-pastoralists had attended primary education, with the rest (37.6%) having secondary
education and above. In terms of ownership of important ICT assets, agro-pastoralists contacted
have and are more familiar with radio (84.5%), mobile phones (76.2%), telecentre (64.1%), and
television (73.7%) for agricultural and livestock information and knowledge acquisition than
magazines (44.0%) and newspapers (36.4%). Only 42.2% of the agro-pastoralists agreed that
ICT have highly positively impacted their livestock and agriculture (agro-pastoral livelihoods);
31.0% confirmed that they have been impacted; while 24.8% agreed that they have not been able
to coordinate and harness information obtained from ICT to improve their productivity in
livestock and agriculture. It is concluded that the potential of ICT services in rural areas as yet
remains untapped. This is because of the limited level of awareness on the use of RISP
(telecentres alongside with community radio) to improve and enhance agriculture and livestock
production. Therefore, urgent measures are required to derive maximum benefits of ICT among
agro-pastoralists for sustainable agro-pastoral system in rural Tanzania.