Study on use of information and communication technology by extension personnel of Bihar (original) (raw)
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JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, 2018
The development of agriculture plays a prominent role in a nation's economy, more so in the case of developing countries of the world. In India, agriculture is considered the backbone of the economy. Given the diversity of agro-ecological conditions across the country and the wide range of producers (small, and medium, large), the Indian agricultural enterprise is inevitably faced with a great diversity of needs, opportunities and prospects. With information being identified as a crucial component of the agricultural value chain, there is an urgent need to devise strategies which will enable improved access to such information as well as facilitate the exchange of information between stakeholders. Many impact evaluation studies reveal that the public-sector extension services despite using a variety of extension programs have not seen much success because they lack technological integration. Studies show that agricultural productivity is considerably influenced by human capital consisting of agricultural and rural extension programs. Thus there needs to be increased emphasis on involving all the stakeholders such as policy makers, educators, scientists, extension personnel in research, development and technology transfer activities and regular training of educators/researchers/extension personnel in SAUs and officers of the agricultural development departments in the use of ICTs. In this regard there is a need to probe into the factors that influence the current usage pattern of ICT among the educators and scientists involved in extension. This research paper makes an attempt to study the same. This study is concentrated in the Northeastern region (NER) of India as the region reportedly lags behind in technology implementation and adoption by farmers.
Factors encouraging ICT usage by agricultural extension scientists in North India
Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, 2014
ICTs can be used to increase effectiveness and efficiency of extension system. So, in this era of information revolution, the agricultural extension Scientists should be encouraged to use ICTs for extension education. Therefore, the study on "Factors encouraging ICT usage by Agricultural Extension Scientists in North India" was conducted. Factors encouraging ICT usage were categorized under the headings of economic factors, facilitating factors, social and psychological factors and technical factors. Data for the study were collected from the agricultural extension scientists who work in State Agricultural Universities and research institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in North India through the use of a pre-tested on-line questionnaire. Provision of grants to buy ICTs, availability of sufficient number of ICT tools, sufficient ICT familiarity and expertise and in-service training facilitation for using/producing ICTs were observed as serious factors in the effective usage of ICTs. The Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) result showed that in usage of ICT there was a significant difference between economic factors with facilitating factors and social and psychological factors. Enabling policies and plans for usage of ICTs for dissemination of agricultural information need to be developed.
Information and communication technology tools used by agricultural extension functionaries
Indian Journal of Economics and Development, 2018
Objective: To analyse the extent of utilization of Information and Communication Technology tools (ICTs) by agricultural extension functionaries. Methods and statistical analysis: Eighty agricultural officers and assistant agricultural officers from 43 Raitha Samparka Kendras (RSKs) in four Southern districts of Karnataka were interviewed during 2016-2017. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect the information on the extent of utilization of ICT tools by the respondents for seeking and dissemination of agricultural information. The collected data was analysed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and multiple regression analysis. Ex-post-facto research method was employed in the study. Findings: Majority of the agricultural extension functionaries (70.00%) were belonging to medium to high category of extent of utilization of ICT tools. All the agricultural extension functionaries were ‘Very frequently ‘using smart phone, while a majority of the agricultural extension functionaries were using ‘Very frequently’ landline phone (88.75%), desktop computer (68.75%) and laptops (57.50%). The software/apps used ‘Very frequently’ by majority of the extension functionaries were SMS (98.75%), WhatsApp (65.00%) and Ms Word (65.00%). A larger number of agricultural extension functionaries were ‘Very frequently’ using Google Chrome (43.75%) and Yahoo (40.00%) search engines for seeking and disseminating agricultural information to the farming community. All the 14 personal, socio-economic, psychological and communication characteristic of agricultural extension functionaries selected for the study have contributed to the tune of 74.50 per cent of variation in the extent of utilization of ICT tools.
The Challenges of Utilizing Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Agriculture Extension
International Journal of Scientific Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2015
The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in agriculture and rural development has surged in the past decade. Growing attention has focused on the contributions of these technologies to agriculture and rural development. ICT includes computers and communication technology along with associated software. The activities of generating, processing, transmitting, disseminating, sorting, archiving and retrieving information constitute the information industry. Innovation in ICT to an increase agriculture production and helps farmer’s in decision making in growth of their crops. ICTs have the potential to reach many farmers with timely and accessible content. But the content that the ICTs deliver has more relevance if it is localized and context specific, as this improves the value and action ability of the information, which can have important impacts on farm management. In this paper covered challenges of utilizing ICT in agriculture extension, as ICT took initiate man...
2015
Data on the factors affecting the level of familiarity and usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) were collected using a pre-tested on-line questionnaire from the Agricultural Extension Scientists (AESs) working in State Agricultural Universities and ICAR Research Institutes of North India. A sample of 154 respondents was selected on the basis of probability proportionate sampling technique. The Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) showed that there was a significant difference between groups received ICT training and untrained group in familiarity with ICT. The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that time spent on use of ICT by AESs exhibited a positive and significant relationship with their ICT familiarity. The results also indicated that ICT training and ICT familiarity were significantly and positively associated with each other. Age of the AESs was negatively but non-significantly associated with their ICT familiarity and usage.
JOURNAL OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE RESEARCH , 2018
In the present century, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has found multiple applications in the field of agriculture. In fact, the use of ICT in agriculture has established itself as an important pillar for the effective delivery of extension services owing to its cost-effective, time-effective, and speedy dissemination of information to farmers. This is especially true for the complex Indian agricultural scenario which is still riddled by problems such as small land holdings, absence of sound marketing facilities, scarcity of capital, poor connectivity, erratic and delayed information to the farmers, non-adoption or a lesser amount of adoption of improved technology, among others. It is seen that ICT has tremendous potential for application in agricultural extension. E-Agriculture initiatives like Agrisnet, Digital Green, eSagu, Agmarknet, iKisan, Digital Mandi, e-Arik, aqua, Fisher Friend Programme (FFP), are but a few examples of ICT services that have taken the agricultural scenario by storm. Recent developments of ICT have facilitated flow of information to various stakeholders in agriculture, especially farmers; however, factors such as lack of awareness, not enough ICT infrastructure, non-strategic location of information centers, and lackluster attitude towards ICT use continue to inhibit the potential of ICT for agricultural development. Moreover, there is a burning concern that most of the e-Agriculture projects in India are seen to have been implemented in the socioeconomically developed states of northern and southern India while the disadvantaged states continue to be technology deprived. This is especially true of the northeastern states of India, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, where agricultural development is still in its most primitive stages. Here, the use of ICT is still limited to medium such as Television, Radio, and mobile phones. Thus, there is a need to look closely at the factors that govern the use of ICT in this region of the country. This paper makes an attempt to study the same.
2017
The present study explored the constraints and suggestions perceived by the KVK scientists for effective utilization of ICTs in agricultural extension activities. The study was conducted in KVKs of Rajasthan and Gujarat states. Responses from the 87 respondents from scientific staff of KVKs were collected through mailed questionnaire. It was revealed that the lack of expertise to use ICT, slow functioning of internet, lack of trainings related to ICT use, lack of awareness among the farmers regarding ICT use for educational and agriculture purpose were the major constraints in ICT use. All these constraints can be overcome by implementing suggestions by respondents like; proper and improved infrastructural facilities at KVKs as well as village level, skill development and updating with trainings, creating awareness regarding use of ICTs for educational and agricultural purpose.
Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, 2018
The present study was conducted during 2016-17 to assess the knowledge of agriculture extension functionaries regarding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools. Eighty Agriculture officers and Assistant Agriculture officers were interviewed from 43 Raitha Samparka Kendras in four Southern districts of Karnataka state of India. Data was collected from the agriculture extension functionaries during the bimonthly meetings held in the District Agricultural Training Centres (DATCs) of the respective districts. The collected data was scored, tabulated and analysed using frequency, percentage, standard deviation, chi-square test and multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that three-fourth (75.00%) of the agriculture extension functionaries were having high and medium level of overall knowledge regarding ICT tools. It was also found that 72.80 percent of the variation in the knowledge of agriculture extension functionaries regarding ICT tools was explained by the 14 personal, socio-economic, psychological and communication characteristics of agriculture extension functionaries.
Role of Information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture and extension
Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 2017
Information and communication technology (ICT) aids provide up-to-date information on the market prices of commodities, inputs and consumer trends which ultimately can improve a farmer's negotiating position and their livelihood. Major aspect of ICT is that accurate information should reach the farmers at the right time to make more sustainable use of on-farm resources. Now the question arises that how this information can be disseminated to such a diverse group of the farming community. ICT is going to play greater role in agricultural extension as well as private sector agribusiness, market information and market intelligence. Here this paper review the role of ICT not only in providing greater awareness and knowledge in agriculture technology and information but also in terms of farmer’s attitudes towards trying to adopt new technologies.
Role of ICTs in Indian Agriculture: An Overview
The agricultural sector in India is currently passing through a difficult phase. India is moving towards an agricultural emergency due to lack of attention, insufficient land reforms, defective land management, non-providing of fair prices to farmers for their crops, inadequate investment in irrigational and agricultural infrastructure in India, etc. India's food production and productivity is declining while its food consumption is increasing. The position has further been worsened due to use of food grains to meet the demands of bio fuels. Even the solution of import of food grains would be troublesome, as India does not have ports and logistical systems for large-scale food imports.