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Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Awareness, Usage and Barriers Study of Agri-Businesses in the City of Ottawa
COMPAS Compendium for the City of Ottawa Comprising Reports on International Literature, Canadian Literature, Surveyed Attitudes of Agri-Business Operators, and Surveyed Attitudes of Key Stakeholders and Experts
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- The City of Ottawa commissioned COMPAS to undertake four studies in August 2005 relating to agriculture and information communications technology (ICT): a survey of n=22 key policy makers, stakeholders, and experts in the agri-business sector; a survey of n=135 local agri-business operators; an overview of the substantial, international ICT-agriculture literature; and an overview of the much sparser Canadian literature.
- From the literature reviews, one may conclude that the strong and numerous ICT benefits to agri-businesses include greater access to information about weather, inputs, commodities prices, and other subjects of value to agri-business operations, better two-way communication with customers, and lower operating and transaction costs, resulting in enhanced competitiveness, productivity, profitability, and quality of life.
- From the literature reviews and the stakeholder/expert study, three types of barriers to agri-businesses’ adoption of ICT emerge: access, competence, and motivation. Access barriers include inadequate or insufficient computer hardware and lack of high-speed Internet access. Competence barriers consist of a combination of a lack of the necessary skills to use and understand the technology and a lack of confidence in that ability. Motivational barriers involve a lack of recognition of a need to engage with new technology and to recognize the benefits of being online.
- Internet usage has much room for growth among Ottawa agri-business operators but there is evidence of some resistance. At most only about half of operators use the Internet in their business—66% report using it or having access, among whom 77% (52% of all respondents) report using it for sending documents. The proportions of those with Internet access who use it for communicating with suppliers or customers and for making purchases are, respectively, 68% (45% of all respondents) and 33% (22% of all respondents).
- The survey of agri-business operators shows that resistance to increased use takes many forms. Resistance emerges in (a) valuations of the Internet that, while positive, are much less positive than those made by stakeholders and experts, (b) a sizeable minority of non-Internet users who readily acknowledge little or no awareness of the service, and (c) a moderate sense of how high-speed access, currently enjoyed by 20% of Internet users and 14% of all respondents, would increase the value of Internet service.
In the event that they had high-speed service, checking product prices would be the most frequent business use of the Internet—58% would do so. Further down the list of business applications, 38% would use it to reach potential customers outside the Ottawa area and 8% would use it to find seasonal workers.
- The barriers or impediments to Internet use emerging from interviews with agri-business operators differ somewhat from those attributed by stakeholders and experts. For stakeholders and experts, inadequate physical access and reliability are key impediments. For agri-business operators, moderate valuations of the business benefits of the Internet and moderate familiarity with the internet are the key issues. Unlike stakeholders and experts, operators do not see ICT as an enormous opportunity nor its absence as a threat. Apart from undervaluing ICT relative to stakeholders and experts, operators also have special concerns about privacy and security.
- COMPAS recommends that the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa agri-business community adopt a three-part approach to ICT usage that involves increasing familiarity with the benefits of ICT through an awareness program, educating agri-business operators on how to maximize their use of the Internet through courses with content that is specific to agri-business, and increasing and promoting rural high-speed availability within the City of Ottawa.
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