Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption in horticulture : a comparison to the EFITA Baseline

Understanding and alleviating the constraints to ICT adoption are currently at the forefront of ICT for agricultural production and rural development. EFITA1 is conducting since 1999 a survey to gain such understanding. The 2004 symposium of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) offered a unique opportunity to compare the EFITA survey results to symposium participant’s perspectives. The following were identified as comparable adoption constraints: end user (ICT) proficiency, ICT benefit awareness, time, cost of technology, system integration, and software availability. The following constraints were mainly indicated by respondents originating from “developed” countries: no perceived economic benefits, do not understand the value of ICT and not enough time to spend on technology. The respondents from developing countries stressed the importance of cost of technology and lack of technological infrastructure suggesting that infrastructure and cost of technology are thresholds for adoption of ICT. They are no longer a threshold for ICT adoption in developed countries as understanding “how to get a benefit from the use of ICT” is. The indication of the importance of “training” to alleviate this constraint is supported by comparison of these results to the results of a similar Belgian case study in glasshouse horticulture. These three survey comparisons provide insights which suggest remedial steps to expedite ICT adoption and prioritize the necessary research.