Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among agri-based entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

This paper focuses on the status of ICT usage among agri-based entrepreneurs in Malaysia. The objectives of the study: 1) to know the purpose of using ICT among agri-based entrepreneurs; 2) to know the level of ICT usage among agri-based entrepreneurs; 3)to determine the contribution of ICT toward agri-based entrepreneur’s productivity; 4) to identify the obstacles for usage of ICT and 5) to identify the ICT networks and support services among agri-based entrepreneurs. A total of 450 respondents were involved in the study representing four fields of agri-based industry namely plantation, animal rearing, fisheries and food processing. Respondents were chosen based on the list of agri-based entrepreneurs provided by Department of Agriculture (DOA) Farmers Organization Authority and Agriculture Bank of Malaysia. A survey using a questionnaire developed for the study was used to collect data. From the study it was found that the most used ICT tools are phone, mobile phone, television and radio. The most used internet application is surfing websites in which 32.2% said that they have surfed websites. Only a small number of the respondents have their own websites. A total of 47.6% of the respondents knew that the DOA website existed and 30% of the respondents have visited the website, this makes this website as the most visited website. A total of 39.6% of the respondents agreed that ICT has contributed towards their productivity especially for the purpose of getting the information about ICT, getting the information about agriculture land and searching for advices on agriculture practices. Among the obstacles faced by agri-based entrepreneurs to use ICT are that they do not know the benefits of using ICT, they do not have skills in using ICT and lack of time to use the ICT. The respondents mentioned that they sought assistance from development agencies for website development and private companies to repair their ICT tools.