BRIDGING THE AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION DIVIDE:THE CASE OF SELECTED TELECENTERS AND RURAL RADIO IN TANZANIA

nformation and communication technologies (ICTs) are important resources for enabling poor farmers to make informed decision regarding their farming activities, especially in the rural areas of developing countries. Effective public access ICTs (telecenters and rural radio) based on farmers needs and with farmersʹ rural and socio-economic constraints can bridge the knowledge and information divide and contribute to agricultural growth. This paper looks at the public access ICTs (telecenters and rural radio) in Tanzania, by assessing their knowledge and information services that focus on supporting farming activities of small-scale farmers, use of telecenters and barriers faced by telecenters in their knowledge and information services. A qualitative approach was deployed to interview eight telecenter operators, where two of them provided radio broadcasting services. The study found that there was low use of internet for knowledge acquisition, while cell phones were becoming popular for farmers to communicate with telecenter operators and rural radio in case of emergency or advice regarding farming activities. With consistent government funding and conducive regulatory environment, telecenters can develop demand led services and sustain their services by strengthening the following: regular information needs assessments; capacity building; knowledge culture; collaboration among farmers and other related organizations; and utilization of multiple sources of knowledge (such as, ICTs and indigenous communication approaches) in order to meet the disparate farmersʹ needs.