Factors affecting smallholder farmers' adoption of mobile phones for livestock and poultry marketing in Vietnam: implications for extension strategies

In order to promote smallholders' adoption of mobile phones for marketing, it is important to understand factors that influence their adoption. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate factors that affect the adoption of mobile phones for livestock and poultry marketing by smallholders in Vietnam. A two-section questionnaire was administered to 233 smallholder livestock and poultry farmers randomly selected from 573 smallholders in Phu Cat district of Vietnam. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyse the data. This study found that young smallholders who live close to an electricity base, with higher education levels, higher income, own large farms, participate in credit/training programmes, and who are members of community-based organisations, have a greater tendency to use mobile phones for livestock and poultry marketing. Subsidy and the provision of technical short course training on the use of mobile phones for smallholder livestock and poultry farmers are important extension strategies that can strengthen the adoption of mobile phones by smallholders for marketing, and this strategy should be delivered via community-based organisations.