WhatsApp messages: An important ICT tool in agricultural technology dissemination and its impact

Abstract

WhatsApp is being used as mobile advisory service to disseminate agriculture information timely to the farming community. The information was sent as WhatsApp message was typed in Kannada language and information related to agronomy of crops, insect pest and disease management, horticulture, engineering and soil science etc was sent to farmers by ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bidar (Karnataka). Totally 150 farmers were randomly selected to know their reaction about the WhatsApp agricultural messages. Results of the survey showed that majority of the farmers found agricultural information in the form of WhatsApp through mobile phone as comprehensible (88.00%), useful (90.66 %) and timely (93.33%). Some farmers who utilizing WhatsApp message service did not utilize the availed service. Some of the users expressed the given information was not useful due crop specific and time specific.