Browsing by Author "Nakisozi, Hildah"

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    Assessing the use of digital technologies for marketing of milk among smallholder dairy farmers in Nama sub-county, Mukono district, Uganda.
    (Busitema University, 2026) Nakisozi, Hildah
    This study assessed the use of digital technologies in marketing of milk among smallholder dairy farmers in Nama sub-county, Mukono district, in Central Uganda. The study was guided by three objectives: to assess the farmers’ knowledge of digital marketing of milk, to examine their attitudes towards digital marketing, and to assess their practices in digital milk marketing. A cross-sectional survey research design employing a quantitative approach was used. Primary data were collected from 100 randomly selected smallholder dairy farmers using structured questionnaires, digitized into the Kobo Toolbox. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of statistical software (Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Stata). The results revealed that the majority of the farmers were male (53%), married (70%), Christian (84%), and had no formal education (41%). The average age of respondents was 46.51 years. The farmers mostly kept crossbreed cattle (39%) with average landholding of 1.53 acres, and farming experience of 11.46 years. They mostly used the informal channels (75%) for selling milk, and none belonged to a dairy farmer cooperative. Only 46% of the farmers used digital tools for marketing milk. Farmers demonstrated relatively high level of knowledge of use of mobile phones (mean=3.266) and mobile payment services (3.129), but limited knowledge of use of social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, websites, and other marketing applications. The study further found that respondents generally recognized the benefits of digital marketing, particularly in reducing dependence on middlemen (mean = 3.38), improving communication with customers (mean 2.94), and saving time (mean = 2.97). However, farmers expressed concerns about online fraud (mean = 3.85) and showed low confidence in using digital marketing platforms. The study also established that the use of digital marketing tools was generally low and was mainly limited to mobile phones and mobile money services. The major factors affecting the use of digital marketing included poor internet connectivity (mean = 4.11), high internet costs (mean = 4.06), lack of smartphones (10%), inadequate digital skills (42%), and limited access to training on digital marketing tools. The study concludes that although smallholder dairy farmers appreciate the potential benefits of digital marketing, its use remains low due to infrastructural, economic, knowledge and attitude-related constraints. The study recommends strengthening farmer training programs, improving rural internet connectivity, digital literacy, and access to cheap digital technologies to enhance the use of digital marketing