Constraints faced by farmers by utilizing ICT tools in agricultural production

Abstract

The present investigation is conducted in Marathwada region of the Maharashtra state during 2021-2022 with the objective to study “Attitude of farmers towards use of information and communication technology on agricultural production and marketing”. Parbhani district was selected randomly from Marathwada region. Three talukas from Parbhani district and five villages from each talukas were selected randomly for the study. From each selected village, ten farmers were selected randomly on the basis of awareness about ICT tools to acquire farm knowledge in this way total 150 respondents were considered for the study. An Ex-post-facto research design was followed for the study. Data was gathered using a well-structured interview schedule created with the study's objectives in mind. The collected data was analysed, classified and tabulated. Statistical tools such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and coefficient correlation were used to interpret findings and draw conclusions. Among the 150 selected farmers various constraints faced by respondents while using the ICT tools and techniques were, Lack of awareness of proper functioning about ICT tools (69.33%), Lack of training of the farmers towards use of different ICT tools (68.00%), Inadequate internet supply (67.33%), Lack of uninterrupted power supply (66.00%), Difficulty in understanding the content language of ICT gadgets (66.67%), Lack of local language in handling and understanding of software (66.67%), Poor mobile/internet connectivity in rural areas (66.00%) and beyond this some other constraints also faced by farmers.