PERCEPTION AND USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN FRESH TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum) MARKETING IN JALINGO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the perception and use of digital technologies in fresh tomato marketing in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. Specifically, it described the socio-economic characteristics of tomato marketers, identified the digital technologies used in marketing activities, examined marketers' perceptions towards digital technology adoption, and tested whether perception differed among retailers, wholesalers, and marketers engaged in both wholesale and retail activities. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 174 tomato marketers from a population of 307 marketers across eight major tomato markets. Primary data were collected using questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, a five-point Likert scale, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) post hoc test. The findings revealed that retailers earned an average monthly income of ₦165,800, compared with ₦278,600 for wholesalers and ₦316,400 for marketers engaged in both wholesale and retail activities, while access to credit remained relatively low, particularly among retailers (31.7%). Mobile phone calls (94.3%), WhatsApp (82.8%), and mobile money/bank transfer services were the most widely used digital technologies, whereas digital record-keeping (37.4%), social media advertising (29.9%), and e-commerce platforms (16.7%) recorded low adoption rates. Tomato marketers generally had a positive perception of digital technology adoption, with an overall grand mean of 4.04. Respondents agreed that digital technologies improve business transactions (4.19), communication (4.16), access to market information (4.14), and sales and profitability (4.07), but perceived digital technologies to be relatively unaffordable (3.01) and internet services unreliable (2.93). The ANOVA results showed a significant difference in perception among the three categories of marketers (F = 12.864, p < 0.001), with Tukey HSD indicating that retailers differed significantly from wholesalers and marketers engaged in both wholesale and retail activities. The study concluded that although basic digital technologies are widely adopted, advanced digital marketing tools remain underutilised due to financial and infrastructural constraints. The study recommends strengthening digital capacity-building programmes, improving access to affordable credit for digital technology acquisition, and enhancing internet infrastructure in major tomato markets.