Efficiency cost of Information and Communication Technologies utilization in agriculture in Benin

Abstract

Objective of article is to measure ICTs utilization efficiency level for agricultural information acquisition. The production function of type Cobb-Douglas is served to calculate this measure. The study was carried out in Tchaourou’s commune, North East of Benin. 104 producers were randomly sampled to respond to questionnaire. The results show that the efficiency cost ICTs utilization average is around 53, 3% namely there is a wasting of the cost of ICTs utilizing approximately 46, 7%. The empiric results of estimation of the econometric model "Tobit" reveals that explicative variables affect significant the efficiency cost of ICTs utilization: age affects negatively at the threshold of 1 %, primary level of schooling and telephone portable utilization affect positively at the threshold of 1 % and group membership affects positively at the threshold of 5 %.