Farmers’ awareness on use of ICT in farm practices

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to understand the extent of awareness of farmers on use of ICT in farm practices. At the same time, important factors were identified those could contribute to farmers‟ awareness on use of ICT. The study was conducted in the existing CIG of Ishwarganj upazila in Mymensingh district. Data were collected from 110 CIG farmers in the selected upazila during the period from 03 October to 05 November, 2018 by using a pre-tested structured interview schedule. Farmers‟ awareness was measured by checking extent of their extent of awareness of seven selected ICT services as cell phone, smart phone, personal computer, services from AICC, services from UDC, Krishi Call Centre and mobile apps. A number of characteristics of the farmers were selected as the factors for explaining farmers‟ awareness on use of ICT. Appropriate scales were developed and used in order to measure the concerned variables. Correlation test was used to ascertain the relationships between the concerned variables, while multiple regression (enter method) analysis was also used to determine the contributions of the farmers' selected characteristics to their opinion on selected ICT based facilities. Results showed that 23.7 percent farmers had “moderate awareness” on use of ICT in farm practices while 60 percent and 12.7 percent of the farmers had “low” and “very low awareness” on use of ICT based facilities in their farm practices. Farmers' characteristics such as education, knowledge about ICTs, ability to use ICTs, access to ICT facilities, attitude towards ICT had significant positive relationship with their awareness on use of ICT; while age, household size and annual income had significant negative relationship with the awareness on use of ICT. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the influential factors on the farmers‟ awareness on use of ICT were household size, knowledge about ICT, ability to use ICT and attitude towards ICT. The R2 value indicated that, four explanatory variables together explained 80.0 percent variation infarmers‟ awareness on use of ICT. The study also identified some constraints faced by the farmers while using ICT services in receiving agricultural information. The study revealed that an overwhelming majority of the farmers (97.3 percent) had high level problems in using ICTs while only 2.7 percent faced medium problems. Lack of training facilities on ICT, cost of using ICT services, low knowledge on availability of ICT based facilities, lack of operational knowledge of computer, low bandwidth speed of internet, limited availability of ICT services, poor level of education/ illiteracy, and so on were identified as the major constraints faced by the farmers.
 Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2019, 4 (1), 34-47

Dimensions of Accessibility and Use of Information Communication Technology Among Cocoa Farmers in Atwima Mponua District, Ghana

“…This implies that mobile phones, radio and television are the most used ICT tools. According to Hasan et al, (2019), farmers are slowly becoming more aware of the use of smartphones. Research conducted by Ayim et al, (2020), Ekeanya et al, (2018), and indicated that televisions, mobile phones, and radios are the most commonly used ICT tools in the agricultural sector.…”

“…The current system of education in formal schools where students are taught basic ICTs could also be a reason for this situation. According to Hasan et al, (2019), older individuals are less likely to use ICT, which serves as a hindrance to the adoption of ICT. The finding agrees with Khalak et al, (2018) that age is an important determinant of respondents' likelihood of having access to ICTs.…”

“…This implies that a cocoa farmer who is more educated will be more likely to have access to ICT tools as compared to their counterparts who are less educated. According to Hasan et al, (2019), farmers with low levels of education are less likely to use ICT. This is so because education enhances the ability to use ICTs.…”

“…The least constraint (7th) was faulty gadgets. Several studies including Hasan et al, (2019), Khalak et al, (2018), Panda et al, (2019), Kacharo (2020), Ekanem andAkpan (2018), andByamukama et al, (2020) have identified various challenges hindering the effective use of ICT facilities in agriculture, such as high costs, lack of operational knowledge, language barriers, unstable power supply, expensive maintenance, poor network and reception, and slow internet bandwidth speed. A Kendall's W of 0.59 gives an indication there is a 59% agreement in the ranking of constraints among the cocoa farmers.…”

Challenges Facing Artificial Intelligence Adoption during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Investigation into the Agriculture and Agri-Food Supply Chain in India

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