IJAER

International Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Research™

ISSN 2455-6939

Title:
APPLICATION OF UTAUT IN UNDERSTANDING THE ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR REDUCING POST HARVEST MAIZE LOSSES IN ZAMBIA

Authors:
Daudi Mungule Chikoye , Narendra Kumar Gupta , Kondal Reddy Kandadi

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discourse on factors which influence the adoption of technologies for preventing postharvest losses of maize among smallholder farmers in Zambia. In this study, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was used to understand the farmers' behavioral intention to adopt technologies. Unless the current strategies employed to reduce world hunger are changed, it may be difficult to feed the world's population which is expected to be 9.6 billion by 2050. World food supply can be increased by either embarking on more production or saving the food already produced. Eastern and Southern Africa experiences annual food loses valued at US$ 1.6 billion. The estimates of annual maize losses for Zambia are between 15-20%, valued at US$ 150 million. Despite the availability of technologies for reducing postharvest food losses worldwide, their adoption remains low in Zambia. Therefore, identification and elimination of constraints to the adoption of existing postharvest technologies should be explored. The results showed that farmers considered the use of technology as beneficial. They, however, needed more information on the available technologies and that social influence was important in technology adoption.

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