DIGITAL CAPABILITIES OF AGRICULTURAL STUDENTS AT THEFEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OWERRI, IMO STATE,NIGERIA

Abstract

The paper investigated capabilities to use digital technologies among agricultural students at the Federal
University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. This study is built upon the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use
of Technology which provides a framework for understanding how behavioural intention, usage patterns and
performance expectancy affect technology usage. The population for the study comprised all undergraduate
students in the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, FUTO. Snowball sampling technique was
used to select a sample of 120 agricultural students. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection while
data were analyzed using percentages and mean score. Results revealed that the internet (57.5%) and friends and
peers (45.0%) were the major sources of digital capabilities to the students. The major digital technologies used
by the students in learning were laptops (56.4%) and artificial intelligence (44.4%). The result further showed that
most of the students were capable of searching information on the internet (74.6%), typing with computers
(55.9%) and downloading lecture notes from the internet (52.5%). It was also found that most of the students used
digital technologies to learn on their own (70.7%), access educational materials (64.7%) and search information
online (60.3%). The challenges to acquiring digital capabilities were power instability ( = 2.98), high cost of
digital devices ( = 2.70) and high cost of data ( = 2.65). The paper concluded that the students possessed digital
capabilities which were still at the foundational level. It was recommended that digital skill enhancement
programmes should be organized to boost the digital capabilities of the students. Also, essential digital
infrastructure should be provided in the institution.