A study of farmer advisory services through mobile application (M-APP)

Abstract

The findings of this paper are simply a glimpse into the potential role mobile phones could play in improving livestock productivity and access to lucrative markets. The study above underscores the critical role mobile phones through its applications (m-apps) can play in greater efficiency for farmers in rural setting. From the discussions and observations made, it was found that farmers were more excited about using the phone to access information on livestock production, management and marketing. Opportunities emerging from the proliferation of livestock farming based mobile applications in local language experienced in developing country like India need to be explored especially in the absence of other ICT infrastructure, like fixed phones and internet. Given the growing interest in smallholder access to information, the findings of the study recommend mobile phone service providers to plan for capacity building programmes for rural communities on the emerging innovations in mobile phone application in order to realise their usefulness in agriculture and allied fields.