The dynamics of mobile phone usage among small-scale oil palm processors: Evidence from the Eastern Region, Ghana

Abstract This paper presents a very interesting issue on the question of ICT integration in Ghana’s small-scale agro-processing industry. Its point of departure is that the mobile phone, as an ICT tool, can be positioned to facilitate information sharing, especially in the activities of small-scale processors. The theoretical underpinning for the study was informed by the conceptual framework explaining motivational factors for use of technology. The study therefore sought to document the dynamics of small-scale oil palm processors’ use of the mobile phone in terms of the motivation for its use, value placed on the tool, and how demographic characteristics have influenced its use. It was derived from responses to structured questionnaires administered on 120 small-scale oil palm processors selected from nine communities in the Kwaebibirem Municipality of the Eastern Region, Ghana, using Yamane’s sample size determination approach. Data collected were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software Version 21.0. The study showed a high rate of mobile phone usage among the small-scale oil palm processors with 81.7% of the respondents indicating that the tool had facilitated their access to information. All the variables, except marital status, were statistically significant at 5% level of significance, with gender, age and education showing positive effect on the use of mobile phones. The major constraint identified by the processors was the lack of access to mobile telecommunication services (89%). The arguments of this paper are that creating an enabling environment holds the key to effective integration of digital technologies in extension information delivery. This will modernise the agricultural extension activities directed at small-scale oil palm processors to make them more efficient.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
The study was designed for an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of small-scale oil palm processors' use of the mobile phone, in terms of the motivation, value placed on the tool and how demographic characteristics have influenced the use. It was derived from responses to structured questionnaires administered on 120 small-scale oil palm processors selected from nine communities in the Kwaebibirem Municipality, Eastern Region, Ghana. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software Version 21.0. The analysis showed a high rate of mobile phone usage with 81.7% of the respondents indicating that the tool had facilitated their access to information. All the variables, except marital status, were statistically significant at 5% level of significance, with gender, age and education showing positive effect on the use of mobile phones. The paper calls for the creation of an enabling environment to ensure effective integration of digital technologies in agricultural extension delivery.

Introduction
The use of mobile phones has introduced significant changes in most sectors of the economy, especially in the informal sector where many Small-Scale Enterprises (SSEs) are changing their ways and means of transacting business, and this has impacted greatly on the telecommunication industry and has made it one of the fastest growing sectors in the country (Afutu-Kotey et al., 2017;Frempong & Mahan, 2009;Kwakwa, 2012;Overa, 2006). Mobile phones provide technological services that bring about efficiency in the cost build up resulting in increase in incomes and also suppliers' ability to reach out to the people involved (Aker & Mbiti, 2010). Besides, mobile phones promote social and business networks, and they clearly replace journeys, brokers, traders and other business intermediaries (Donner, 2005;Hughes & Lonie, 2007;Silver et al., 2019).
Studies have highlighted the role of mobile phones in the growth of SSEs using the experiences of Asia and Africa (Frempong & Mahan, 2009;Silver et al., 2019). Generally, mobile phones give people the opportunity to communicate at a distance and with the press of a bottom, information is reached immediately. Therefore, the use of mobile phone may have the possibility of increasing productivity of SSEs. In a much earlier study, Overa (2006) argued that mobile phone use might lead to the reduction in both transaction and transportation costs and these two costs could be deemed to be the determinants of business profitability. According to him, the two costs could also affect incomes of both producers and traders and go a long way to determine the availability and cost of goods to buy. Additionally, the use of mobile phone has brought Ghanaian communities closer to each other though they may be miles apart (Asante, 2018;ITU, 2003). Mobile phones have come to improve business-to-business transactions, and this has given people the opportunity to have instant access to information on producer prices precisely (Aker & Mbiti, 2010). Similarly, mobile phone use, according to Jensen (2007), can help minimise information distortions and also enable users to have access to marketing and distribution opportunities. In this way, it facilitates easy movement, convenience and saves time and travel expenses (Bhavnani et al., 2008). In Ghana, farmers in the northern city of Tamale are at a fixed point and get to know corn and tomato prices in Accra through mobile phone use, which is about 658 km (Aker & Mbiti, 2010). The reduction in communication cost as a result of mobile phone use has significant economic benefits of improving agricultural and labour market efficiency and also improving producer and consumer welfare (Aker, 2010;Jensen, 2007).
Within the context of this study, mobile phone (or mobile telephone), alternately called cell phone is a mobile or portable phone that enables a user to communicate almost anywhere in the world. It is a telecommunication device with the same basic capabilities as a conventional fixedline telephone, but entirely portable without the requirement of being connected through a wire to a telephone network. Invented by Dr Martin Cooper and his team of developers at Motorola, mobile phone has changed drastically from when the original mobile phone was released. Often, the term mobile phone is used interchangeably with the term smartphone. While both can be used to make calls, send and receive text messages, a smartphone has an in-built camera that can be used to take, view and store pictures and videos as well as access emails via the Internet (Accessed on www.computerhope.com, February 2023).
Theoretically, the issue of motivation is key to the use of mobile phones. According to Pezzulo et al. (2014) motivation refers to factors that engage goal-directed behaviour for the needs that drive individuals and clarify what people do. Mobile phone devices are devices that are carried on the person most of the time and may include such devices as smartphone, tablet or any hand-held device. Thus, a mobile phone device is also capable of communication via the Internet (Hoffman et al., 2010). The key factors that define mobile learning are mobility and the ability of users to access the Internet for learning purposes, without being tied to a location (Wu et al., 2012). Six aspects of learning with mobile devices that might be motivating were proposed at the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Mobile Learning in 2007: control over learners' goals, ownership, fun, communication, learning-in-context and continuity between contexts. The authors suggested that using mobile phones for learning is likely to be highly motivating (Jones & Issroff, 2007). With respect to the definition of the terminology of motivation, Chang and Villegas (2008), Stafford et al. (2004), note that mobile devices have several functions that lead consumers to use them. Such functions include (1) short text mail, (2) communication with friends, (3) taking photos and uploading them, (4) playing games, (5) listening to music and (6) mobile nets. Chang and Villegas (2008), in their conceptual framework, list six motivational factors for the use of mobile phones, as shown in Figure 1. It is seen that mobile devices are a new multidimensional communication technology that are used to enrich learners' knowledge, from the user's standpoint. Indeed, the fact that this technology supports learners in defining their own interests and ways of accessing further learning opportunities is crucial.
Mobile phone has penetrated every area of life, such as commerce, education, business, and agriculture (Sharma, 2016(Sharma, , 2019. Mobile technology-based communication has recently developed rapidly and has become one of the most frequently used communication devices among all other ICTs today (Bhatnagar, 2008;Khan et al., 2019;Manimekalai, 2013;Mittal et al., 2010). The latest statistics reveal that 62.9% of the world's population now has a mobile phone, and there are 4.68 billion operators/customers and users on the globe (Statista, 2019). This fast development of mobile phones has become a useful communication tool, which has not only changed the way many departments work but has also produced new skilled fields for different industries including agro processing (Asongu & Asongu, 2018;Jansen et al., 2006;Khan et al., 2019;Sullivan & Omwansa, 2013). In the agro processing sector, the smooth conversation of information is  Source: Chang and Villegas (2008).
important for the effective adoption of marketing strategies, transportation and innovations required for the advancement in the agro processing sector. Due to the deficiency of resources and deprived infrastructure in various developing nations, there is a massive communication irregularity between agro processors and actors in the value chain (Baloch & Thapa, 2014;Khan et al., 2019). In this context, ICTs (especially mobile phones) reveal the huge potential to help exchanges by smooth knowledge exchange among various sponsors in agriculture (Aker, 2011). In agriculture, mobile phones enable agro processors to communicate at the local as well as at the organisational level in agricultural trade, knowledge exchange, and agricultural products (Fafchamps & Hill, 2005;Khan et al., 2019;Ogutu et al., 2014;Rathore & Sharma, 2012). This reduces travel costs and increases the productivity of agricultural communities living in remote areas. Compared with other ICT tools such as laptop and iPad, mobile phones have been widely spread to marginalised and underdeveloped agricultural communities due to their affordability and user-friendliness (Brugger, 2011;Osabutey & Jin, 2016;Payne & Liu, 2011;Rashid & Elder, 2009).
Usually grown in the tropics, the oil palm tree produces high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in Ghana. It can be used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and to some extent, biofuel (Melissa et al., 2014). Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of the oil palm tree. The oil is produced by squeezing the fleshy fruit. In Ghana, oil palm processing has contributed to the sustainability of the oil palm value chain through value added activities. Some of the oil palm processors who operate on small-scale basis in their routine business may engage with numerous service (network) operators. The mobile phone thus may come in handy to facilitate business transactions. Mobile phone usage has been spreading fast among actors along commodity value chains, especially in the exchange of marketing and business information (Furuholt & Matotay, 2011). Oil palm processors may directly contact market brokers in nearby communities to sell their processed product. Similarly, oil palm farmers may focus, and search for useful and up-to-date market information from social and business networks (Ilahiane, 2007). It has been empirically documented that, the mobile phone has the potential to provide a good platform for value chain actors such as processors to share information with one another on such issues as market rates and input cost (Lehr, 2007;Munyua, 2007). Some studies have shown that the access to communication technologies, such as the mobile phone, has impact on the economic, poverty reduction as well as agricultural development (Dirk, 2021). This paper makes the assumption that the use of mobile phones is likely to increase the efficiency of the work of oil palm processors as the use of the tool may offer them affordable access to business information, which in turn may introduce the needed efficiency in their business.

In the light of the preceding information, the research questions that served as a guide for the study were as follows
(1) How do small-scale oil palm processors value the importance of the use of mobile phones?
(2) What are the motivations that drive small-scale oil palm processors' use of the mobile phone?
( 3) In what ways do demographic characteristics of small-scale oil palm processors influence their use of mobile phones?

Justification for the study
Earlier studies have shown that the use of mobile phones can increase access to information among men and women, thereby improving their living standards (Abraham, 2006;Aker, 2008;Bhavnani et al., 2008;Galperin & Mariscal, 2007;Jensen, 2007). Similarly, Folitse et al. (2019) concluded that there is a high penetration rate of mobile phones among small-scale poultry farmers, a situation which, according to them, had underscored the importance of the mobile phone as a driver of business operations. The World Bank stipulates that Ghana has not been able to improve agricultural productivity as agricultural extension has not witnessed the desired investment in terms of funding and required number of extension staff (World Bank, 2018). These constraints, according to Anang et al. (2020), had translated into a poor extension agentto-farmer ratio of 1:1300. The World Bank (2018) further emphasises the apparent disparity between the south and the north and projects that this ratio may be much worse in the northern part of Ghana. Perhaps, the mobile phone represents a tool that can contribute to diminishing the negative effects of the poor extension agent-to-farmer ratio, as studies have showed positive use of the mobile phone in agricultural extension delivery (Etwire et al., 2016;Nyaplue Daywhea et al., 2021). Additionally, the invaluable role of the mobile phone as a tool for the dissemination of agricultural information became manifest during the recent emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, characterised by limited movement of people (Mahapatra, 2020). These developments offer adequate justification to promote sustainable use of mobile phone, especially among actors in small-scale agricultural businesses whose competitiveness depends on timely access to relevant information. This study represents one of the efforts at generating empirical data to shape policy direction towards integrating ICT, particularly the mobile phone, in the information dissemination activities of small-scale processors, in this case, small-scale oil palm processors. Although some studies have been undertaken to understand value chain actors' use of ICT tools, this study represents one of the first ever studies in Ghana to focus on small-scale oil palm processors' use of the mobile phone to promote their value addition business.

Study area
This study was carried out in the Kwaebibirem Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Kwaebibirem Municipality is located between latitude 6°22" Ntitude 5°75" S and longitude 1°0" W-longitude 0°35" E°. It is bordered by Birim North District to the north-west, Atiwa District to the north-east, on the south-east by Denkyembour District and on the south-west by Akyemansa District. Kwaebibirem Municipality has a land area of 1230 km 2 with Kade as its capital. Figure 2 shows the communities in the Kwaebibirem Municipality with Kade as the capital of the Municipality.
The Municipality has a tropical climate characterised by two distinct conditions of wet and dry seasons. The wet seasons range from April to July and from September to November with total annual rainfall of about 1500 m, while the dry season ranges from December to March. Minimum and maximum temperature ranges between 25°C and 30°C, respectively (GSS, 2010).
The main economic activity carried out in the Municipality is agriculture, that is, crop and livestock production. The following crops are produced: cocoa, citrus, plantain, banana, and cassava, oil palm, rubber, rice, leafy and fruit vegetables, maize, among others. However, oil palm, cocoa, rubber and citrus are the main cash crops produced in the Municipality. It is estimated that about 13,095 households are engaged in the cultivation of oil palm (Ofosu-Budu & Sarpong, 2013). About 50% of oil palm farmers produce palm fruits on contractual agreement with the Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC), the largest oil palm production company in Ghana (Adjei-Nsiah, Sakyi Dawson, et al., 2012). The GOPDC also produces about 30% of oil palm, while 70% production of oil palm is carried out by smallholder farmers. Hence, a total area of 50, 700 ha of oil palm are under cultivation in the Municipality (Adjei-Nsiah, Sakyi Dawson, et al., 2012).

Research design
The quantitative research design, using the survey method, was employed for the study to gain an in-depth understanding regarding the use of mobile phone by small-scale oil palm processors in the study area. It was derived from responses to structured questionnaires administered on smallscale oil palm processors. The interview schedules elicited answers pertaining to small-scale oil palm processors' demographic characteristics, importance of mobile phone use, motivation for the use of mobile phones, constraints in the use and the relationships between oil palm processors' demographic characteristics and their use of mobile phone. The intention was to assemble the perceptions of the processors as interpreted in their own settings and also to understand the dynamics of their use of the mobile phone with a view to informing policy direction on integrating ICTs in agricultural information dissemination.

Sampling method and sample size
The population for this study was oil palm processors in Asuom, Otumi, Subi, Kade, Kusi, Takorase, Wenchi, Abaam and Abodom, all in the Kwaebibirem Municipality, Eastern Region, Ghana, numbering about 380. To determine the sample size, Yamane's sample size determination approach, formulated in 1967 from his book "Statistics, An Introductory Analysis" was employed. Yamane (1967) provided a very simplified formula for determining sample sizes, which required the population size (N) and the precision level (e). The formula is given by Given that N ¼ 380 ande ¼ 0:05, the sample size is As it can be noticed, the Yamane's sample size determination resulted in a sample size of 195. However, the actual sample size used for the analysis after data cleaning was 120.
Thus, a random sampling technique was used to select the 120 oil palm processors for the study from a finite population of registered oil palm processors of the Kwaebibirem Oil Palm Processors Association. The focus of the field survey was on small-scale oil palm processors. The distribution and location of oil palm processors were representative of the oil palm processing areas in the Municipality as shown in Table 1.

Method of data collection and analysis
Interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires administered to the small-scale oil palm processors randomly selected from a database of Oil Palm Processors obtained from the Kwaebibirem Oil Palm Processors Association, Eastern Region, Ghana. To get accurate information for the study, the questionnaires were given to three research assistants, dispatched to these towns to collect data from 20 December 2020 to 28 January 2021. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0. Besides, inferential statistics in the form of multiple regression was used to understand the relationships between the demographic characteristics of the small-scale oil palm processors and their use of mobile phone.

Demographic characteristics of oil palm processors in the area of study
The results as shown in Table 2 indicated that the small-scale oil palm processing business is dominated by females. Majority of the oil palm processors in the study area (83.3%) were females. The results further indicated that the oil palm processing activity was undertaken by people deemed to be advanced in age and perhaps experienced in the business. Most of the respondents were within the age bracket 61-70 years, corresponding to 32.5%, with 16.7% being over 70 years. In terms of their marital status, the findings showed that the small-scale oil palm processing business was dominated by people who were divorcees. About 24% of the respondents were divorced, with 16.7% of them being married. Further 10% of the respondents were single. In terms of education, the distribution showed that most of the small-scale oil palm processors (41.7%) had senior high school education. This meant almost all the processors had attained one form of education or the other. Mobile phone penetration in the study area was observed to be very high. Every respondent interviewed had a mobile phone and was deemed to be experienced in using the mobile phone as it had formed part of the culture of the processors. Furthermore, MTN Ghana and Vodafone Ghana had the highest share of users in the study area.

Importance of mobile phone use to small-scale oil palm processors
As shown in Table 3, 81.7% of the processors indicated that mobile phone had enabled them to easily obtain information once they needed it, i.e. market and price. Furthermore, 80.0% of the processors also specified that the use of mobile phone had saved them time in dealing with related parties in the industry. Per the findings, 79.2% of the processors stated that mobile phone had promoted interpersonal relationships amongst them in the industry since they could communicate among themselves. Likewise, 78.3% of the processors were of the view that mobile phone had assisted in obtaining information quickly, with 75.0% indicating that mobile phone had enabled them to exchange information anytime the need arose. Again, 74.2% of the oil palm processors asserted that mobile phone usage had increased their incomes as they had increased their networks among larger communities and market buyers in remote areas.

Determinants of mobile phone usage among small-scale oil palm processors
The results in Table 4 showed that the determinants of mobile phone usage among oil palm processors in the study area were faster access to information (95.8%), money saving (93.3.0%), money transfer (91.7%), assurance of getting the receiver (81.7%), flexibility/carriability (81.6%) and faster access to other stakeholders/services (81.6%) and listening to news and music (75.0%). Oil palm processors in the Kwaebibirem Municipality use the mobile phone to communicate with key actors in the industry; a possible indication of the productive use of the tool to enhance their livelihoods.

Demographic variables and mobile phone usage among small-scale oil palm processors
The results of multiple regressions are indicated in Table 5. Here, the use of mobile phone is considered as the dependent variable and the different demographic variables related to the respondents as independent variables. From Table 5, it is observed that the value of R 2 is 0.60996, which indicates that 60.99% of the variation in the results can be expressed by the independent variables considered in this study. Based on the results presented in Table 5, it can be seen that all variables except marital status are statistically significant at 5% level of significance. It may be concluded that gender, age and education had the positive effect on use of mobile phone among oil palm processors in the study area.

Constraints in the use of mobile phones by small-scale oil palm processors
Per the findings, the constraints faced by the respondents varied, depending on respondents' location. As seen in Table 6, 74.2% of the oil palm processors complained of no access to mobile telecommunications services. Similarly, 66.7% complained about fluctuating mobile services, while 60.8% of the respondents complained of lack of access to electricity to recharge their mobile batteries, a situation which had prevented them from taking advantage of the services for their oil palm processing activities. Additionally, 55.8% of respondents said that high cost of running mobile phone was one of the challenges that had impeded their effective use of mobile phones in their processing business. Difficulty in using mobile phones was complained by 51.7% of the respondents largely due to lack of awareness about the use of the tool.

Demographic characteristics of small-scale oil palm processors
The dominance of females in the small-scale oil palm processing business in the study area did not come as a surprise. The literature points to preponderance of females taking centre stage in the processing and value addition aspect of value chains (Adejo & Olowogbayi, 2019; Amenyah & Puplampu, 2013). Food processing is typically the exclusive domain of women, consistent with the time use surveys reviewed by FAO (2011) and the aforementioned claims regarding female labour share in agriculture. Generally, men are reported to be more engaged in production agricultural activities, while women served as helping hands in harvesting, transportation, marketing and processing of agricultural products (Oyesola & Obabire, 2011).
The control of the small-scale oil palm processing business in the study area by older people may be worrying in light of efforts by governments, present and past, to get younger people to take up jobs in agriculture, especially in the activities of value chains (MoFA, 2020). Studies have shown that agriculture holds the key to addressing the issue of youth joblessness in developing countries (Sumberg et al., 2017). The implication of the finding is that the young ones appear not interested in the processing activities of the oil palm value chain. However, given the potential of the business as a possible reliable source of livelihood for the youth, there is the need for programmes and interventions that will get them interested in the business to help address the issue of youth unemployment in the study area in particular and the country as a whole.
Agriculture is a source of support for the unmarried (Zhai et al., 2020). The distribution of respondents indicated that oil palm processing remained a source of livelihood for the unmarried as most of them were either divorcees or singles. For the married, the possibility of complementary relationship in which husband and wife support each other cannot be completely ruled out. For the unmarried therefore, there is a need for a more sustainable source of livelihood to offer that support. This finds expression in the business of small-scale oil palm processing.
The distribution of the respondents showed that the small-scale oil palm business is dominated by practitioners deemed to be fairly educated. The sustainability and effectiveness of activities in commodity value chains thrives largely on the level of education of actors. The result of the study in terms of education is consistent with Okwu et al. (2007) who reported that an individual's level of education was found to affect his or her access, comprehension and adoption of modern agricultural practices.
The high penetration of mobile phones in the study area is evidence of the acceptability and relevance of the tool to the lives of the respondents. It is not far-fetched to conclude that the mobile phone as an ICT tool has come to stay and indeed has been integrated into the lives of the people. This result of the study confirmed a similar study conducted in Ghana by Smale and Tushemereiruwe (2007) where the result showed that before the advent of mobile phones, farmers spent many days to reach the market, but now mobile phones had made their life easy to communicate directly with customers and to sell their produce on the spot. Furthermore, the two telecommunication network operators, MTN Ghana and Vodafone Ghana, occupying the largest share in the Kwaebibirem District, Eastern Region, Ghana, have a responsibility to ensure good quality services to their customers.

Importance of mobile phone usage to small-scale oil palm processors
Agricultural information is deemed to be a key component in improving small-scale oil palm processing and linking increased production to remunerative markets, thus leading to improved rural livelihoods, food security and national economies (Asongu & Asongu, 2018;Khan et al., 2019).
The dissemination of such information has become possible thanks to the deployment of such ICT tools as the mobile phone. There is no doubt that mobile phones are transforming the lives of many users in developing countries and mobile phones are widely recognized as an important current and future technology platform for developing nations (Lehr, 2007). Additionally, mobile phones are considered important for development, because they offer benefits such as mobility and security to owners (Donner, 2006). The findings of the study support these views and are also consistent with the assertion by Aker (2008), and Goyal (2010) that mobile phones had brought significant changes in the prices of products, with farmers and other value chain actors now getting reasonable prices for their produce from the market. The implications of the findings point to the important role of the mobile phone in promoting access to timely, relevant and productive information that has introduced the needed efficiency in the oil palm processing business. Studies by Mwantimwa (2017) and Atiso et al. (2021) have corroborated these findings and underscored the significance of the mobile phone in agricultural and market information dissemination. It is also instructive to note mobile phone's role in promoting interpersonal relationships among actors in the small-scale oil palm processing business. Interpersonal relationships are a key attribute to a successful business outcome (Barnes et al., 2015) and may contribute to building business trust, which may also serve as a vehicle for building the needed confidence among actors in the business.

Determinants of mobile phone usage among small-scale oil palm processors
Based on the conceptual framework developed by Chang and Villegas (2008), the motivation for the use of mobile phone may be driven by economic, socialisation, informational, escape and privacy factors. These factors were confirmed by the study with quick access to information (95.8%); money saving (93.3%) and money transfer (91.7%) being cited by most respondents as the determinants of mobile phone usage. The use of mobile phone in the transfer and saving of money may have the potential to promote a cashless society and may stimulate financial inclusion for the small-scale oil palm processors consistent with the study by Sayid (2018) in Somalia and Kenya. This is obviously a development that ought to be encouraged and strengthened with the right policies and investments. The digitisation of the financial system may hold the key to sanitising the financial ecosystem and providing the needed security for users. Studies by Boadi et al. (2008) had revealed that farmers in rural eastern and central regions of Ghana among other things had gotten better information flow, enhanced marketing activities, operational efficiencies and cost savings for using mobile phones. Another noteworthy determinant of mobile phone usage, which has implications for mass media dissemination of information, is the role of mobile phone as a source of news and music as cited by 75% of the respondents. This brings to the fore the multi-purpose or adaptable role of the mobile phone, which makes it a versatile ICT tool. The flexibility or carriability of the tool is another motivational factor that serves as a major incentive for its patronage. Convenience may be one of the attributes that may inform the choice and use of technology, and the mention of this factor by 81.6% of the respondents did not come as a surprise.

Demographic variables and mobile phone usage among small-scale oil palm processor
The implications of the findings showed a relationship between the demographic characteristics of the respondents and their use of mobile phones with all variables, except marital status being statistically significant at 5% level of significance. These findings are largely consistent with those of Mwalukasa et al. (2018);Folitse et al., (2019) and Krell et al. (2021), who concluded in related studies in Tanzania, Ghana and Kenya that the use of mobile phones to access rice information on climate change adaptation was statistically significantly influenced by respondents' gender, age, education level, marital status, farm size, farming experience, radio ownership and off-farm incomes. There is no doubt that these findings are likely to inform the direction, shape and form of any capacity-building intervention to promote the use of mobile phones in agricultural extension delivery.

Constraints in the use of mobile phones by small-scale oil palm processors
These results reaffirmed the concerns raised by Burrell (2010) that effective use of mobile phones depended largely on the availability of electricity. Also, the findings showed that illiteracy could prevent many rural people from taking advantage of some mobile phone features and services, which required a considerable level of literacy (Ahmed & Laurent, 2009). As also earlier opined by Biemans et al. (2005), acceptance and use of mobile phones, as any other technological devices, could be enhanced when enabling conditions (such as electricity, good mobile network and internet browsing network, as the case in this study) were available.

Conclusions
The study showed a high rate of use of mobile phone among small-scale oil palm processors in the Kwaebibirem District, Eastern Region, Ghana, as a possible driver of business operations. This fact finds wider expression in the reasons offered by respondents for the use of mobile phone and small-scale oil palm processors' enthusiasm for the use of the equipment. The study showed ease to get information, especially on market and price, once needed. Most of the respondents indicated that, the use of mobile phone was saving time in dealing with related parties in the industry, a possible indication of mobile phone as a tool for poverty alleviation. An appreciable percentage of the respondents also indicated that they used the mobile phone because it enabled faster access to information and in the process, saving money. A regression analysis indicated that gender, age and education had positive effects on use of mobile phone among the small-scale oil palm processors in the study area. The four major challenges associated with mobile phone usage mentioned by the respondents were no access to mobile telecommunications services, unstable mobile services, lack of access to electricity and cost of running mobile phone.

Theoretical and practical contributions
As explained in the introduction, theoretically, the use of the mobile phone is said to be a function of one's motivation to meet his or her news and information, economic, entertainment, socialisation and security needs. This brings to the fore the multipurpose or flexible nature of the mobile phone, which positions it as a valuable ICT tool for agricultural extension delivery. In the face of fewer agricultural extension agents to reach out to preponderance of small-scale producers and processors, coupled with the rather poor extension agent-to-farmer ratio of one extension agent to 1300 farmers (Anang et al., 2020), the question of how to make agricultural extension more cost-effective has been the concerns of most African countries. If the findings of this study are anything to go by, then there is adequate explanation to sustain the use of mobile phones in agricultural extension delivery in view of the adaptable nature of the tool. The findings reinforce the justification for more effective integration of mobile phones in agricultural extension practice.
The study offers policy direction towards exploring more innovative use of mobile phones to deepen learning towards small-scale value chain actor innovativeness. This calls for agricultural extension policy that is inclined towards capacity building for small-scale processors and producers in the use of simple application software accessible on mobile phones. The arguments of this paper are that there is the need for more innovative use of the mobile phone to derive more benefits from the use of the tool. Agricultural extension must go beyond such digital solutions via the mobile phone that allow small-scale producers' linkages to the market; make technological innovations developed by research more accessible to end-users; facilitate fruitful exchanges and experience sharing among small-scale producers; make phone contacts that facilitate easy access to agricultural inputs possible and explore a lot more innovative and more beneficial use of the mobile phone. The authors believe it is when more innovative use of mobile phones is encouraged that agricultural extension can give true meaning to the issue of cost-effectiveness of agricultural extension programmes in Ghana and possibly reduce the negative impact of the poor agriculturalextension-agent-to-farmer ratio. The authors further believe a policy direction that creates the right ecosystem for the deployment of mobile ICT tools, especially the mobile phone, may hold the key to modernising agricultural information dissemination processes and making the processes more efficient. Accordingly, there is the need for policy that promotes sustained investments in the needed infrastructure to create the right enabling environment for the effective mainstreaming of mobile phone technologies in agriculture. There is enough empirical evidence for the integration of ICT in agricultural food systems, especially in agricultural extension and advisory services. This fact must find expression in the agricultural programme planning in the district, municipal and metropolitan departments of agriculture.

Limitations of the study and directions for future research
While the findings of this study may be deemed to be valid enough to make definite contributions to the research area, the obvious limitations of such studies cannot be completely ruled out. First of all, the authors believe a much wider geographical area of Ghana could have been covered to ensure a much broader geographical statistical generalisation of the results. The ideal situation would have been a nationwide survey; however, in view of the limitation of resources (such as funding), the focus was on the Eastern Region of Ghana. In terms of future research direction, there would be the need to replicate the study in other agricultural geographical regions of Ghana for the purpose of comparison, on the one hand, and building a more comprehensive nationwide research database on ICT use in Ghana's agriculture for policy formulation, on the other hand. Secondly, the research design could have included a qualitative aspect to ensure the triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative data for much greater validity. In view of the likely time-consuming nature of qualitative research and the limited resources for the study, coupled with the pressure to meet timelines, the study was more quantitatively oriented. In spite of this methodological limitation, the emerging findings from this time-tested and reliable quantitative approach cannot be discounted. Indeed, the findings can be said to be instructive enough to shape the discussions on integrating ICTs (mobile phones for that matter) in Ghana's smallscale processing industry. Perhaps, future studies can build on the current study and explore ways of incorporating more qualitative methods in future research designs. Thirdly, the questionnaires were in English language with occasional use of a few technical jargons, which needed to be broken down in the local language to a few of the respondents. This limitation extended the original timeline for the study, leading to some cost implications on the part of the researchers.