Design and Implementation of a Mobile-Based Agricultural Advisory System for Farmers in Kano State

Access to timely agricultural advisory information remains a major challenge for smallholder farmers in Kano State, where low literacy and limited internet connectivity constrain the adoption of digital tools. This study presents the design and implementation of a mobile-based agricultural advisory system tailored for farmers in selected local government areas of Kano State, North West Nigeria. The system was developed using a combination of SMS-based interaction and a lightweight Android application, enabling farmers with both smartphones and basic feature phones to access crop management advice, weather alerts, and pest control guidance in Hausa language. The development methodology followed an iterative Agile framework, with four sprints involving 30 farmers as participatory testers. A relational database backend powered by MySQL stores crop condition templates and advisory content curated by agricultural extension officers. Usability testing was conducted across three LGAs in Kano State involving 60 participants, using the System Usability Scale. Results indicate a mean SUS score of 74.2, classified as acceptable. Farmers reported that the Hausa-language interface significantly improved comprehension compared to English-language alternatives. Advisory response time averaged 4.3 seconds on 3G networks. The study concludes that mobile-based advisory tools can meaningfully bridge the agricultural information gap in northern Nigeria when localised appropriately. Future work should incorporate machine learning modules for real-time disease detection using farmer-submitted crop images.

Keywords: mobile advisory system, agriculture, Kano State, Hausa language, usability testing