1.1 Introduction
Vegetables may be described as those plants, which are consumed in relatively small quantities as a side dish with the staple food. The term ‘vegetable’ can also be used to designate the tender edible shoots, leaves, fruits and roots of plants that are eaten whole or part raw or cooked as a supplement to starchy foods and meats (Williams et al, 1991). Vegetables are also central to most nutrition, food security and poverty reduction programs around the world (James et al., 2010). Extension workers, farmer groups and local community organizations, are working towards helping farmers to increase their yields in sustainable ways that create wealth and reduce the risks to productivity. The agro-ecosystems in these various ecologies offer great opportunities for commercial production of vegetables in West Africa (Levasseur et al., 2007).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Over the years, the mobile phone subscription of developing countries has steadily increased compared to that in the developed countries. Statistics from the International Telecommunication Union (2007) suggested that there are now more mobile phone users in the developing world than in the developed world. From the above it can be seen that the rate of mobile penetration in Nigeria is very high which makes it a very good platform to use in disseminating of medical information. Reaching large population in remote areas was unthinkable in olden days, with mobile communications revolution sweeping across the globe, nearly 90 per cent of the world's population now has access to a mobile-phone signal, including 80 per cent of people in rural areas.
The influence of world trade reforms has thrown up several new challenges on the demand and supply of vegetables, particularly in India. Rapid urbanisation, increasing per capita income, diversifying food basket on the demand front, declining size of holdings and falling productivity of scarce natural resources like soil and water on the supply side induces farmers to include vegetables in the existing farming system. Being a labour-intensive activity, it is expected that vegetable production will augment income and employment opportunities on small farms, whose strength is availability of abundant labour. To document the impact of vegetable research in the country, the National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi organised a two-day national workshop on ‘Impact of Vegetable Research in India’. The workshop was held at the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi on March 1-2, 2002.
Most vegetable products from Koinadugu District fruity, leafy, roots, etc. are mainly transported in large baskets, boxes, bags, and other containers by women to markets in Makeni and Freetown every day. Whether business has alleviated poverty among its farmers or improved their standard of living in Koinadugu District requires investigation. Yet, necessary data that would show the impact of vegetable farming on the standard of living, household food security and economic security in Koinadugu District is scanty. Also, Food security remains a major problem in the district, with agriculture largely limited to subsistence level farming and lacking the necessary expertise that could improve cultivation practices. It is also a nationwide belief that there is little assistance to individual vegetable or group of vegetable farmers to attain their stated objectives during a period or over a period of time. It is hoped that results of this study would forecast what the food security situation in the district is, the main problems vegetable farmers encounter and how these would be minimized in order to attain self– food security. The government and NGOs and the international organizations may find such data useful for planning and organizing farmers for improved and sustainable vegetable production.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Investigation revealed the challenges encountered that led to the execution of the research work include the following;
- Farmers waste their precious time searching and browsing for vegetable information such as; plant soil texture, fertilizer and insecticide needed to facilitate the plant yielding,
- Difficulty in accessing certain vegetable farming procedure,
- The manual system of vegetable farming information system has no proper accountability on the distribution of farming facilities and equipment, and
- Inaccuracies in vegetable farming record keeping due to human errors.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to Design and Implement of a Mobile Based Information System for Vegetable Farming. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to develop a mobile-based application software that will:
- Enable the farmers search and browse vegetable information without delay.
- Store vegetable farm products in a database that will enable farmers to be able to locate their desired information.
- Reduce human errors and time spent by farmers filling out forms, freeing resources for more critical farm tasks.
- Ensure proper accountability on the distribution of farming facilities and equipment.
1.5 Significance of Study
This system when completed and implemented it will help provide adequate information about Vegetable Farming record and facilitates quick search of Vegetable Farming. This project will be beneficial to farmers by providing accurate and complete information about vegetable farm product records thereby saving farmer’s time during farming.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Design and Implementation of a Mobile Based Information System for Vegetable Farming in Nigeria.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Administration: An administration is the act of giving a drug to somebody or a patient. .
Information: Information is used to tell someone that they are wrong about something.
