ICTs for Agricultural Extension

ICTs for Agricultural Extension A study in the Indian Himalayan Region V.L.V.Kameswari INDIA

Introduction • Increase in agricultural production is constrained by limited land and water availability. • Further growth can be achieved only through increase in yield. • Serious gaps exist in transfer of technology. • This gap can be bridged by an effective extension system.

Extension system in India Public extension system

Mass media

Interpersonal contact

Limitations of extension system • Decreasing fund allocation. • Limited capacities of extension staff. • Large number of farm families. • Poor reach to marginal and small farmers. • Low literacy rate among farming community.

E-extension Use of ICTs has been put forth for: • Bridging the knowledge deficit among farmers • Enhancing the capabilities of extension personnel, and • Strengthening the research-extensionfarmer linkages.

Objective To examine their relevance to the farming community and explore ways of integrating ICTs with the existing public extension service to overcome these challenges.

Study area • Study was conducted in the state of Uttarakhand • Falls in the Indian Himalayan region. • Eight villages from four hill districts were selected for the study.

Study area

Study Area

Study Area

Study Area

Methodology • Pilot study: Finalize the tool. • Phase I: Villages were selected randomly in Garhwal division. • Phase II: Only those villages which were agriculturally “productive” were chosen. Additional criteria (distance from market and availability of transportation) were taken into consideration.

Findings- Landholding pattern 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Landless

Marginal

Small

Medium

Large

Findings- Occupational pattern 90

82

80 70 60 50 40 30 20

18

10 Agriculture Ag.+ other

0 Agriculture

Ag.+ other

Findings-Media Ownership 90 Mobile phone

80

Television

70 60 50 40 30 20 10

Internet

0 Radio

Newspaper

Fixed phone

Findings-Media Ownership 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30

Radio Television Newspaper Internet Landline Mobile phones

20 10 0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Findings-Source of agricultural information Rank

Source

I

Middlemen/ input dealers

II

Government agencies

III

Interpersonal networks

Findings-Source credibility Rank

Source

I

Government agencies

II

Interpersonal networks

III

Middlemen/ input dealers

Findings-Media usage for farm information 60

Mobile phone

50 40 Television

30 20 10

Internet 0 Radio

Newspaper

Landline

Findings

Conclusions • Information deficit does not necessarily lead to information seeking behaviour. • It depends on the value information can add to that enterprise. • In the absence of other factors, farmers are not able to leverage new/ additional information and transform it into tangible benefits (increased income or enhanced productivity).

Objectives • •

• • •

To document the communication behaviour of the farming community with specific reference to ICTs in the study area. To enlist the constraints surrounding the use of ICTs for agriculture by farming community. To study the relationship between economic and sociocultural characteristics of farmers and constraints faced in the use of ICTs for agriculture. To study the relationship between different types of ICTs and constraints faced by the farmers. To develop an ICT based integrated Agricultural Knowledge Information System for the study area.