Influence of Mobile Technology Usage on Productivity Efficiency of Rural Households in Nasarawa State

Abstract

This study determined the influence of mobile technology usage on the productivity efficiency of rural households in the Nasarawa state. The study identified the level of access to the various forms of mobile technology, the indices for the effect of mobile technology usage on the productivity efficiency of rural households,s and the level of awareness of rural households about the services provided by various forms of mobile technology in Nasarawa state. The population for this study consists of the entire 621,081 rural households in Nasarawa state, Nigeria from which 400 heads of rural households were selected as the sample. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three experts while the validated instrument was trial tested in Benue state and the result obtained was subjected to reliability analysis using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.78. Data were analyzed using simple percentages, frequency means, and chi-square statistics. The findings of the study revealed that; cell phones were the major type of information technology used by rural households, they were highly accessed while the reduction in frequent travel among others was found to be the effect of mobile technology usage on production efficiency. General awareness about the services that can be provided by mobile technology revealed that rural households were more aware of services related to cell phone mobile technology. It was further revealed that mobile technology usage has a significant effect on the productivity efficiency of rural households in the Nasarawa state. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended amongst others that awareness should be created about the functions/usefulness of all other forms of mobile technology and should be made accessible.