Abstract
This paper analyzed the impact of mobile advisory and face-to-face communication in capability building of farmers in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. These farmers accessed agricultural training and information services through Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK). KVKs had been established in different parts of the country to enhance agricultural productivity and to promote rural wellbeing. Gigler’s Alternative Evaluation Framework that operationalized Sen’s Capabilities Approach was adapted on evaluating the indicators of economic wellbeing and quality of life of the farmers. Farmers’ perception of effective communication tool for information transfer and the actual usage of communication mediums that had catered to the capability building were analyzed. Although the results showed that face-to-face communication was mostly used by KVK and Short Message Service (SMS) was limited, the combined impact of both media catered for capability building enhancing their productivity for economic wellbeing and quality of life. Key words: Capabilities approach, face-to-face communication, mobile advisory, farmers’ development, Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
Highlights
The Government of India has taken various initiatives for capability building of farmers to increase the agriculture productivity that primarily contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country
All the participants were well informed about the services of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Kancheepuram and all of them were associated with the centre either by using the market facility provided by KVK or had participated in the training programmes, trials and demonstrations, and sell their products through „Vaanavil market‟ established by KVK
The results show that education did have an impact on the perception of the effectiveness of the communication media; farmers who were educated more than middle school perceive that both face-to-face and mobile advisory mediums together would be effective while the farmers who were educated below middle school perceive that face-to-face communication was more effective
Summary
The Government of India has taken various initiatives for capability building of farmers to increase the agriculture productivity that primarily contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. One such initiative is Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) which strives for assessment of location-specific technology modules in agriculture and allied enterprises, through technology assessment, refinement and demonstrations. The KVK in Kancheepuram district in Tamil Nadu is a pioneer among the 645 KVKs in India It was set up in 1985 as a vocational training centre for the farmers at the grassroots in Kancheepuram district and it aims to be the leading agricultural / animal husbandry technology service provider for the uplift of the farming community [Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kattupakkam (KVKK), 2018].
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