Farmers’ perceptions of ICT use regarding agricultural crop production in district Mansehra (A case study of Himalayan region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan)
Paper Details
Farmers’ perceptions of ICT use regarding agricultural crop production in district Mansehra (A case study of Himalayan region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan)
Abstract
ICT in agriculture is a rising field concentrating on the improvement of agriculture and rural growth. Keeping in view the importance of agriculture for our economy and in order to better understand the use & effectiveness of ICT in mountain agriculture extension system in Pakistan, the focus of the this research study is “To analyze famer’s perceptions of ICT use for better communication regarding agricultural crop production in district Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan”. For the purpose of data analysis, a sample size of 188 was selected randomly in the area. Five point Likert scale, percentages, and in majority of cases scores/ranks were used. It was observed that majority of the respondents were having farming (64%) as a major source of livelihood in the study area. Results also reveal that majority of the respondents (57%) in the study area were small farmers (less than 5 acres of land). Findings further suggest that majority of the farmers believed that that they are using ICT tools as source of information in agricultural practices with Television (26%) and Radio (24%) mostly used for this purpose. Moreover, findings indicate that various services like weather related information and Climate Change adaptation services, as the most needed services in the study area can further be strengthened through ICT. It is recommended that an ICT centre, comprising of FM Radio facility, call center and SMS service facility may be established in the area for a greater coverage regarding advisory services to the farmers in the Himalayan region of Pakistan.
Khan A, Akram M. 2012. Farmer’s perception of Extension Methods used by Extension Personnel for dissemination of new agricultural technologies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Pakistan, Sarhad Journal of Agriculture 28(3), 511-520. Agriculture Policy Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Ten years perspective plan) 2015-2025.
Balaji V, Craufurd PQ. 2011. Using information and communication technologies to disseminate and exchange agriculture-related climate information in the Indo Gangetic Plains. CCAFS Working Paper no. 78. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Copenhagen, Denmark. https://ccafs.cgiar.org/publications/usinginformation-and-communication-technologies-disseminate-and-exchange-agriculture-0
Cochran WG. 1977, Sampling Techniques, Third Edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Chaudary KM. 2006. Analysis of alternative extension approaches to technologies dissemination and its utilization for sustainable agricultural development in Punjab, Pakistan. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
Farooq S, Shahbaz B, Ali T, Khan IA, Ahmad M. 2007. Analysis of problems faced by farmers in the mountains of northwest Pakistan: Challenges for Agri. Extension Pak. Journal of Agriculture Sciences. 47, 417-420.
Gunga N. 2008. A framework for implementing information and communication technologies in agricultural development in India. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 74(4), 491-518.
Howell JL, Habron GB. 2004. Agricultural landowners’ lack of preference for internet extension Journal of Extension 42(6). http://www.joe.org/joe/2004 December/a7.php
IFAD. 2002. Assessment of Rural Poverty in Asia and the Pacific. International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome. http://www.ifad.org/poverty/region/ pi/PI_part1.pdf
Meera SN, Jhamtani A, Rao M. 2004. Information and communication technologies in agricultural development: A comparative analysis of three projects from India. AGREN, Network Paper, 135.
Omotayo AM, Chikwendu DO, Zaria MB, Yusuf JO, Omenesa ZE. 1997. Effectiveness of radio in Nigeria in dissemination of information on improved farming practices [abstr.]. Journal of Extension System 13 (1&2), 103-120. http://www. jesonline.org/2007Jun.htm#Ommani.
Singh A, Masuku MB. 2014. Sampling techniques & determination of sample size in applied statistics research: An overview, International Journal of Economics Commerce and Management 2, p 15.
Steinen T, Baig MB, Straquadine G. 2007. “Sustainable agriculture ensures sustainable rural development: a reality or a myth”. In: M. Behnassi et al. (Eds.), Global food insecurity: rethinking agricultural and rural development paradigm and policy, p 21–32. Springer Science+ Business Media B.V. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-08.90-7_3
Abdus Salam, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan (2019), Farmers’ perceptions of ICT use regarding agricultural crop production in district Mansehra (A case study of Himalayan region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan); IJB, V15, N4, October, P289-295
https://innspub.net/farmers-perceptions-of-ict-use-regarding-agricultural-crop-production-in-district-mansehra-a-case-study-of-himalayan-region-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-pakistan/
Copyright © 2019
By Authors and International
Network for Natural Sciences
(INNSPUB) https://innspub.net
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0