Opportunities for Facebook to Improve knowledge transfer to Farmers and Enhance Agricultural Extension (original) (raw)
Related papers
Social Media in Agricultural Extension: Benefits and Challenges under Indian Context
Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology
Aims: This study aimed to empirically test social media tools in farm extension communication activities. Study Design: Quasi-Experimental Design. Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in 8 districts of the State of Himachal Pradesh, India, June 2016-December 2016. Methodology: The current study involved the creation of social media communication intervention among the selected group of farmers from the state of Himachal Pradesh. This was achieved through the creation of Facebook and WhatsApp groups among smartphone user farmers and sharing relevant agricultural information for a period of six months. Results: The notable benefits derived by farmers were seeking solutions to minimise crop and livestock losses, easy availability of information in multiple forms, regular learning, multimodal information delivery and the creation of social capital. Reported constraints were the high frequency of irrelevant posts by other members, increased internet data requirements and poor internet connectivity. The study also found users to prefer WhatsApp over Facebook due to convenience in
Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education
The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of farmers on basic computer literacy, social media use, and to explore which social and demographic factors affected their knowledge capacity. The study had a final sample of 176 participants from the northern, southern and central regions of Trinidad and Tobago. A survey instrument comprising of 14 multiple-choice questions with one accurate response was developed to decrease bias of farmers randomly selecting the accurate response. The questions addressed knowledge on basic computer and social media literacy. Analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA with posthoc testing. Results indicated that there were significant differences in farmers' performance in the knowledge test based on characteristics such as age, education, and household use of social media and the internet. Based on the findings, minimal training in computer and social media literacy did not impede the farmers' use of the computer or social media. These discoveries highlight the potential of extension programs using the internet and social media applications to improve communication efficiency among agricultural stakeholders within farming communities.
The role of Internet and social media in the diffusion of knowledge and innovation among farmers
2016
The impact of the use of information technology (IT) has been gaining relevance recently in the way it can facilitate communication in the agricultural sector. Farmers can share innovations and knowledge alongside solving problems through social media, or other uses of the Internet. Farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing is an important source of information, but potential obstacles to effective communication can include distance and the amount of time farmers can invest in knowledge sharing activities. The Internet has therefore become an effective way to overcome those obstacles. The internet allows farmers to share their experiences, which traditionally would have been over a farm-gate, via YouTube, web forums and online groups. There are Twitter feeds that farmers can go to, ask questions, or share experiences. Whilst some conventional farmers are also using these tools, they have become a lifeline for farmers hoping to or currently farming more sustainably. These farmers are likely...
An overview of social media use in agricultural extension service delivery
Journal of Agricultural Informatics, 2017
Social media are contemporary digital communication means comprising various tools that allow interaction among people and information exchange worldwide. Its active users have reached around 3 billion globally as at April, 2017. Since agricultural extension service delivery is primarily a communication process, proper integration of social media is necessary. However, owing to the conducted researches so far the present paper was centred on making an overview of the current perspective of social media and agricultural extension service delivery. Evidences obtained revealed that there are many social media platforms being used in agricultural extension service delivery worldwide with Facebook having highest popularity (64.7%). Most of the agricultural stakeholders using social media are versatile users (33.5%) who usually visit only to find information (75.7%). Many challenges are currently faced in using social media for agricultural extension service delivery; viz. illiteracy, shortage of infrastructure, limited participation, non-institutionalisation, lack of quality control, lack of adequate yardstick for measuring impact and need for gender sensitive approach. In general, social media is gradually appreciated in agricultural extension service delivery, but faced with challenges. Thus, the necessity to put structures in place and required efforts by all stakeholders to ensure good use of its benefits.
Social Media in Agricultural Extension Services: Farmers and Extension Agents Perspective
European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
The study aimed to assess the present status of social media in agricultural extension services as well as attitude of the farmers with their problems towards social media. The study was conducted in five unions of Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila, Chapainawabganj district. A total of 90 respondents (60 farmers and 30 extension officers) were randomly selected from the study area. The majority of farmers (75%) had a moderately positive view toward social media. According to the findings, all of the farmers were men, and 46.7% of them were in their middle years. The majority of the farmers (53.3%) were illiterate, the majority (38.3%) were small-group farmers based on land ownership, and only a small percentage (11.7%) used social media. The most popular social media platforms among them were Facebook and YouTube. Other respondents used social media at a rate of 93.3% for extension officers. About 46.7 percent of extension staff utilized both Facebook and YouTube to communicate with far...
Social Media Used by the Farmers in Sharing Farm Information
Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology
Social media has emerged as a highly powerful tool in facilitating online social interactions and has shown tremendous potential in facilitating information exchange among individuals. It has been extensively used by farmers to tremendous increase in the number of smart-phones users during the last decade. A study was conducted during 2021-22 to find out the different social media being utilized by the farmers. A total of 140 progressive farmers who are using social media were randomly selected from purposively selected blocks of the Kota division of Rajasthan. Results of the study revealed that WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook were the most popular social media tools which are being used by farmers for sharing farm information. Keeping in touch with extension workers/ scientists, sharing or capturing information, and socializing with relatives /contact were major purposes for the farming community on social media sites. It can be concluded that social media would deliberately remain...
The Utilisation of Social Media for Accessing Farming Information by Progressive Farmers
Bhartiya Krishi Anusandhan Patrika, Volume 38 Issue 3: 290-295 (September 2023)
Background: It is more prominent in developing and under-developing nations where large number of populations resides in a rural area with agriculture as their main source of livelihood. Agricultural research, education and extension are critical components to increase productivity and fulfil the demands of an expanding population. Under India's current extension delivery system, knowledge or information is vital for improving productivity. Digital advancement and social media have gained importance as technical leap leading to various software's and applications making life easier, mankind can access various civic services, has led to two-way communication making system more accountable, sensible, responsible, a tool in curbing corruption. People, particularly progressive farmers, are using developing social media like W hatsApp, YouTube, Instagram as various platform of social media. India is an agrarian country and social media is helping in imparting knowledge and information to our farmers about recent technological developments such as hybrid seeds, irrigation methods, soil testing in farming. Methods: Narrative textual case study technique was used (NTCS). We used social media to gather information. Social media is making farmers and other people aware of sustainable use of resources. Result: Researchers have seen social media as more beneficial in obtaining agriculture-related information and putting digital knowledge into practice than other sources of information.
Social media are tools meant for digital communication that aids in the interaction among a group of people and acts as information exchange media across the globe. Since ages newspapers, television, and magazines have been the most used source of information in the agriculture sector. But now the power of the 21st century is literally in our hands. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Whatsapp have 2.6 billion, 2 billion, and 1.6 billion active monthly users respectively as of 2020 (Anonymous1 2020). Agricultural extension agents use social media to access information needed to improve their agricultural service delivery in northwest Nigeria. The broad objective of this study is to assess the implications of social media usage in Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Northwest Nigeria. Other specific objectives were to ascertain the areas where social media has helped extension agents in engaging youths in agriculture; find out the socioeconomic factors that influences usage of social media for agricultural information transmission. A sample of three hundred and sixty youths in agriculture was randomly selected through the multi-stage sampling techniques in the study area. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaire and focus group discussion. The theories of Utility and Rational served as theoretical framework for the study. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression model. Data were analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS). The null hypotheses that guided this study is socioeconomic factors do not significantly influence the usage of social media by agricultural extension agents to engage youth in agriculture in the study area. Results of the logit regression analysis carried out to establish the social-economic factors that significantly influence the usage of social media by extension agents to train youth in agriculture showed that the independent variables studied accounted for a coefficient of multiple determination of 0.510 (51.0%). Out of all the socioeconomic factors that influenced usage of social media in agriculture only age (0.994), education (0.642), farm experience (-0.158), income (.000) and sex (1.768) were found to significantly influence the usage of social media in agriculture. Findings revealed that most of the Vol 10, Issue 5, October-2022 Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences (DAFS) Services for Science and Education-United Kingdom respondents (30.0%) indicated that extension agents used social media to engage youths in agriculture through extension services. These findings recommended the need of the useful of these variables in the usage of social media in agriculture.