The effect of mobile network quality on use of mobile application in Affordable Inputs Program of Malawi

Agriculture subsidy programs increase participation of rural households in food security and nutrition improvement in Malawi. Digital technologies e.g. mobile application (App) and biometrical identification, electronic database have been integrated in implementation of Affordable inputs program (AIP) to support effectiveness and efficient delivery of the program. This paper analysed the effect of mobile network quality on the use of e-AIP redemption benefits app in AIP. The study analysed secondary data using content analysis. The findings showed that network availability was the main cause of network glitches that affected the use of mobile application for redeeming agricultural inputs. The network glitches created further challenges to the agricultural inputs subsidy beneficiaries and stakeholders. The include loss to time, promotion of corruption and late processing of transactions affecting overall goal of supporting food security. The study suggest areas of further research and recommendations for the telecommunications regulator to improve on measuring mobile network performance to include quality of user experience.