Title: Digital divides and the adoption of information and communication technologies in the UK farm sector

Authors: Martyn Warren

Addresses: University of Plymouth, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6NQ, UK

Abstract: For farm businesses operating in remote rural areas, internet-based technologies offer the prospect of overcoming disadvantages relative to urban areas, particularly those related to spatial and social isolation. Using empirical data, this article contends that a ||digital divide|| exists within the agricultural sector between relatively small cattle and sheep farmers and larger-scale arable and dairy farms, which will result in uneven take-up of new communication media, loss of competitiveness and increasing relative disadvantage for those businesses affected. Arguing that this disadvantage will be serious for both individual businesses and the industry, the article identifies the development of human potential as a priority.

Keywords: information and communication technology; agriculture; digital divide; diffusion; adoption; internet; livestock farmers; rural poverty.

DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2002.001207

International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 2002 Vol.1 No.4, pp.385-405

Published online: 01 Jul 2003 *

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