Effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Gadgets in Gaining Knowledge of Tomato Crop Production Practices among Farmers of Karnataka

Abstract

The twenty-first century is characterised as an age of information technology. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become indispensable in our daily life to reinforce ourselves for our agricultural needs. ICTs can be broadly interpreted as technologies that facilitate communication, processing and transmission of information by electronic means. Some of the ICT gadgets like televisions, computers, mobiles and internet are effectively used by technologists to disseminate agricultural-related information to the large number of farmers. Many efforts are going on in designing Agriportals, expert systems and developing multimedia DVDs for agriculture. Universities, research institutes and development departments are utilising these support systems to educate the farmers on various agriculture-related aspects. The present study is designed to measure the relative effectiveness of television, Agri-portal and multimedia DVDs in gaining knowledge of tomato crop production practices among farmers. The study was conducted in Hoskote taluk of Bangalore rural district. Total sample size of the study is 90 farmers comprising 30 each under television, Agri-portal and DVD. The before and after experimental research design was adopted for the study. The three treatments namely, television (T1), e-krishi Agriportal (T2) and DVD (T3) were tested for their effectiveness. The effectiveness was studied in terms of knowledge gained through these three treatments. Television (T1) was found to be the most effective and superior in imparting knowledge with the enhancement of 49.86%, followed by DVD 43.35% and e-krishiAgri-portal 43.03%. All the three treatments were effective in imparting knowledge with considerable variation in their effectiveness. The paired ‘t’ test revealed that there exist a significant difference in knowledge level of tomato crop production practices among the T1, T2 and T3 farmers at 1% level of significance.