Constraints of Access to Agricultural Information in Africa: A Systematic Review

This review is aimed at assessing the constraints of access to agricultural information in African countries. To conduct this, secondary data from articles were used. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, and Uganda as the sample countries for the review. The collected data was combined and interpreted for a general conclusion and recommendation. The review highlights that in Africa, agricultural information was accessed from radio, television, mobile phones, computer and internet, face-to-face contact with extension workers, fellow farmers, input suppliers, town criers, agricultural research centers, and printed materials such as posters, magazines, newspapers, school/college notes and books, manuals, billboards, and bulletins. However, farmers face several challenges to access the information, such as illiteracy; limited information sharing among farmers; religious beliefs; lack of cooperative membership; unavailability or inappropriateness of information sources; the absence of aids to present the information; the failure to use local language; complex information; high costs of both information and inputs; inadequate or unqualified extension workers; a lack of farmer training, workshops, and seminars; insufficient reading materials; low extension-farmer linkages; poor public relations by extension workers; the long distance of training centers from farmers' homes; lack of rural electrification; and the absence of rural networks. There should be an expansion of information and communication technology for transferring agricultural information to the farmers in African countries.