Effect of Information Communication Technologies on Information Access in Lesotho Extension System

The study assessed the effect of Information Communication Technologies on information access among public and private agricultural extension officers in Lesotho. ICT infrastructure in Lesotho is currently low, with accessibility to telecommunication services of about 3% of the entire population for land telephone lines and just about 20% for mobile phone. Lesotho ICT policy has provided guidance by allocating various responsibilities to role players: this involves the Ministry of Communications to formulate policies and the Lesotho Telecommunication Authority (LTA) to regulate operations in communication infrastructure. However, the effect of ICT on information access among extension officers is still not known. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 86 public and 19 private extension officers. Data collected were analysed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), using frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation and multiple regressions. Both categories of extension officers (public and private) had very high perceptions of the positive effects of information and communications technology on access to information. They scored high in most of the twenty-nine statements measuring these effects. The multiple regression model revealed a strong relationship between independent variables and public and private extension officers’ information access. Collaborations between public and private extension should be be strengthened, since private extension service is more organized than the public, this will help the use of ICT in the development programmes in the country.