TRANSFORMING TANZANIAN FARMERS' ECONOMY THROUGH INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) DELIVERED ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING

Abstract

There is growing interest in roles played by entrepreneurship as a catalyst to achieve economic and social development objectives, including growth, innovation, employment and equity. The main objective of the paper is to establish how Tanzanian farmers’ economy can be transformed through ICT delivered entrepreneurship training. Specifically, the paper first identifies the economic contributions of entrepreneurship training to Tanzanian farmers’ development. Second, it examines the current situation of entrepreneurship training provision to farmers. Lastly, it analyses how ICT can transform entrepreneurship training delivery and speed up economic development. The study employed an exploratory design using a survey approach. Qualitative data were collected from 50 farmers and 5 trainers at Kibaha in Coast region Tanzania through interviews and Focus Group Discussions. The data were analysed using thematic data analysis. The findings show that entrepreneurship training has contributed to increased knowledge and skills which led to creation of an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, which could stimulate productivity and economic growth. The study also found that the current contents of entrepreneurship training provided are based on farm business management skills and not on entrepreneurship skills. In tandem with that, the most applied pedagogical approach used is traditional teaching method which is perceived not fit for farmers. ICT delivered entrepreneurship training assists to increase access to skills saves cost and time which are used in other economic activities and transforms farmers’ economy. The paper concludes that, to accelerate and transform farmers’ economy, it is necessary to promote ICT delivered entrepreneurship training. The study recommends that the Tanzanian government should harness and enable the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of farmers by ensuring that entrepreneurship training policy and good infrastructure are in place.