Use of Digital Tools for Horizontal Spread of Agricultural Technologies by Farmers of Kerala

In this digital era, integration of digital tools is common in every sector and agriculture is not an exception. The present study was conducted among the farmers of Kerala who were using various digital tools, during the year 2018-2019. The sample of the study consisted of 120 farmers from three zones of Kerala. Awareness and Preference of the respondents were studied in order to find out the horizontal spread. Based on the results obtained it was found that all farmers were aware about tools like television, mobile phone and social media. Most of the farmers had selected mobile phones as the most preferred tool. Farmers were found to use mobile phones mainly for ‘crop protection’ purposes and social media for ‘marketing’ purposes

Assessment of the Role of Mass Media in the Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies among Farmers in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the Role of Mass Media in the Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies among Farmers in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State. A random sampling technique was used for selecting samples. The total sample size was 108 respondents. Data were collected through a well structure interview schedule and analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi- square. The study showed that the respondents have different degree of accessibility to radio, television, telephone, Internet, and newspaper/ bulletin. Radio was found to be more accessible (46.3%) and also the major source (60.19%) of agricultural technologies to the farmers. The study further revealed that 90.7% of the respondents affirms that mass media is effective in the dissemination of agricultural technologies while 9.3% saw mass media as not effective. The Chi- square analysis at 0.01% level of probability showed that the use of mass media was effective in the dissemination of agricultural technologies in the study area. The factors militating against the effective utilization of mass media as source of agricultural technologies to the farmers in the study area were also identified to be illiteracy, low income level, lack of credit facilities, and inadequate/ erratic power supply. To enhance the effectiveness of mass media in the dissemination of agricultural technologies for agricultural development in the study area there is need to strengthen the use of radio and television in information dissemination to farmers, more competent presenters who are knowledgeable in agriculture to handle agricultural programs. Also such programs should be broadcasted in local languages as much as possible and efforts must be taken to guarantee that the airing times are suitable. Key words: Agricultural technologies, Dissemination, Mass media, Analysi

Review of agricultural extension in India: Are farmers' information needs being met?

Despite a wide range of reform initiatives in agricultural extension in India in the past decades, the coverage of, access to, and quality of information provided to marginalized and poor farmers is uneven. This paper aims to ascertain why farmers are not accessing information and where information gaps exist, despite the variety of extension approaches in India. Using information provision and access as the basis for analysis, the paper reviews some of the major agricultural extension programs in India by considering their ability to provide information and facilitate information sharing and use in farming communities. The review gives a broad overview of the current extension scene in India while providing a synthesis of recent debates and the observations of various authors as well as working groups in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Planning Commission. The paper examines the challenges and constraints of each agricultural extension approach as it attempts to provide farmers with access to information that is relevant to their farm enterprises. As a result of this analysis, opportunities are identified for increasing extension services' effectiveness and efficiency in reaching smallholder farmers. Research gaps are also identified. The review concludes that there is an increasing need to work in partnership and to share knowledge and skills in order to provide locally relevant services that meet the information needs of marginal and smallholder farmers in India.agricultural extension, Knowledge, information, Innovation, Public-private partnership, Gender, Education,

SMS-Based ICT Tool for Knowledge Sharing in Agriculture

Agriculture is the world’s major industry with 60% of the global population depending on it.  Being the major source of livelihood, agriculture is challenged by issues such as food shortage, food security problems, climate change affecting crop yield, land degradation, decrease of crop varieties and others. There is a huge amount of knowledge products generated by the government agencies, local universities, private civic groups, local government units and non-government organizations (NGOs) to address these issues however the information has difficulty reaching the intended farm practitioners as end-user. With this aforesaid challenge, a technology based information sharing and access among stakeholders such as agricultural knowledge experts (academe) and knowledge end-users (farmers) is a dire need.  Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has always been an indispensable tool that can provide an environment where knowledge generators and knowledge users can use to exchange information any time and place.  Retooling and scaling up the process how information and knowledge products is being accessed and shared is indeed a critical consideration. Using descriptive research and qualitative approach, this study determined an ICT tool, a managed SMS-based system to be highly acceptable to the identified stakeholders as an information sharing medium and model and is therefore recommended for use.  The result of this research shall serve as an implementation guide for government, non-government organizations(NGOs), extension service providers, system integrators, researchers, and other related groups offering or planning to engage in similar service

Impact of farmers’ climate risk perception and socio-economic attributes on their choice of ICT-based agricultural information services: empirical evidence from Pakistan

In Pakistan, research on information and communication technologies-based agricultural information services (ICTbAIS) have gained significant attention owing to the overwhelming population of smallholder farmers (whose information needs are unable to be met by the conventional extension services) and the increasing incidence of climatic risk. This study is, therefore, conducted in the Punjab province of Pakistan (mixed cropping region) to explore farmers’ use of ICTbAIS and understand the relationship between farmers’ socio-economic attributes, risk perception, and choices of ICTbAIS. A sample of 480 farmers was drawn using a multistage sampling approach, and farmers were interviewed face-to-face. To analyze the dataset, a multivariate Probit (MVP) model was employed. The results show that Television (TV) and mobile-based advisory and mobile-based consultations appeared to be the most used ICTbAIS, followed by radio and internet-based advisory. The estimates of the MVP model showed that farmers’ age, education, farmland, tenancy status, off-farm income, and climate risk perception are significant determinants of their choices of ICTbAIS. Based on our results, we suggest policymakers and extension agencies to improve the content of ICTbAIS and make efforts for the awareness and training of farmers regarding the use of contemporary ICTs

Are we making a Better World with Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) Research? Findings from the Field and Theory Building

As Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) continue to penetrate people’s lives the world over, there is a sense that understanding the role of ICTs in the context of development needs to be conceptualized theoretically while making empirical contributions that add to what we know (Avgerou, 2008; Davison, 2012; Sein and Harindranath, 2004; Sahay and Walsham, 1995). Other scholars have pointed to the importance of this research for the field of Information Systems (ISs) in offering broader contributions. Avgerou (2008) suggests that in the era of globalization such research offers contributions in ISs beyond “organizational organizational and national boundaries and support global economic and political activities” (p. 134). If the concept of development can be used to conduct research and offer contributions that lead to improvements in people’s lives globally, then it follows that we should be, at some level, making a better world. The purpose of this editorial is to understand the challenges faced by scholars hoping to make contributions to this field and explore the ways in which they may continue to create a better world

Design requirements for an online data exchange platform to bridge the gap between farmers and researchers in India

The rising awareness of information transparency and the increasing trend of citizen participation in the agriculture sector has created new opportunities for information sharing. There are numerous information resources available for farmers from private, government sources and industry stakeholders. There are also various farm surveys by which farmers contribute towards the agricultural sector. However, no such platform connects farmers and researchers in which data exchange happens simultaneously between them. This gap in information exchange contributes to slow growth in the advancement of the agricultural sector. Research results do not reach the end-users in time to adopt agricultural improvement practices. Often researchers do not get the opportunity to engage and encourage farmers to be citizen scientists to contribute to the research. In this thesis, we develop design requirements for an online web-based prototype data exchange platform to bridge the gap between researchers and farmers. The platform can serve as a way to build farmers’ trust in researchers and encourage them to contribute more towards agricultural research to develop the sector. We believe that the findings of this study will prove helpful to interface designers and researchers to inform and guide future work in this critical area

Mobile Application for Research Knowledge Sharing and Dissemination: The Case of Nm-Aist Univeristy Tanzania

This research article was published by Scientific Research Publishing Inc 2022The utilization of mobile and web applications has surpassed all other plat- forms in terms of disseminating researchers’ knowledge among diverse com- munities throughout the world. The current method of disseminating re- searchers’ knowledge to the communities in the Arusha region in Tanzania is through meetings, workshops, and focus group discussions held by research- ers, agricultural extension officers and community members after every three months or during field study. Yet the strategy is inefficient and ineffective in practice. The purpose of this study was to determine the most efficient and successful method of disseminating knowledge in communities. The study began with a qualitative phase, utilizing an interpretive technique and a qua- litative multiple case study research design. The Arusha region in Tanzania was selected as a case study where different social activities were undertaken, including farming, livestock keeping, tourism activities and fishing. Individu- al participants were interviewed by using a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, focus group discussions were conducted to gather more information regarding the needs of the mobile application. Through the implementation of the application, the second phase of the study led to the development of a mobile application that includes community members, agricultural extension officers, and researchers that will enable anyone to install the application on their mobile phones to access knowledge regarding activities undertaken in Arusha. According to the findings of the first phase of the research, a sub- stantial percentage of community members own mobile phones, and hence a mobile application would be sufficient. The research also found that most re- searcher-community interactions occur at the data collection and interven- tion assessment (field trials) stages. Hence, the mobile application will benefit community members, district agricultural, irrigation, and cooperative officers (DAICO), and researchers