ICT EXPOSURE OF EXTENSION PERSONNEL IN SAURASHTRA REGION 2876
Loading...
Date
2019-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
JAU, JUNAGADH
Abstract
India is an agro based developing country with about 68.84 per cent population living
in rural area. Agricultural extension is a service or system which assists farmers through
educational procedures in improving farming methods and techniques, increasing
production efficiency and income, bettering their levels of living and lifting the social
and educational standards of rural life. In recent times however, there has been
revolution with regards to ICT in agriculture particularly in extension service delivery.
ICT has potential to respond to a number of challenges that confront public extension
systems. With this consideration, the problem entitled ‘ICT exposure of extension
personnel in Saurashtra region’ was undertaken.
The study was conducted in Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Six districts were
selected randomly out of eleven districts and a total of 120 respondents were selected
proportionately from each six districts.
In respect to characteristics majority (53.33 per cent) of the extension personnel
were middle aged, more than three-fourth (80.00 per cent) were males, majority (60.83
per cent) had M.Sc. degree as educational status, more than half (64.17 per cent) had
medium work experience, exactly three-fourth (75.00 per cent) belonged to rural area,
majority (62.50 per cent) had medium achievement motivation, majority (65.84 per
cent) had medium level of innovation proneness, majority (60.84 per cent) had medium
job commitment, more than half (59.17 per cent) had medium attitude, slightly more
than half (55.00 per cent) had medium level of knowledge about ICT, 53.34 per cent
had medium level of mass media liveliness, majority (43.34 per cent) had low level of professional zeal, majority (61.67 per cent) had not undergone any training on ICT and
63.33 per cent had medium level of infrastructure facilities.
Majority (65.00 per cent) of the extension personnel had medium level of ICT
utilization followed by 20.00 per cent and 15.00 per cent with high and low level of
utilization respectively.
Out of fifteen independent variables; social participation, mass media liveliness,
training undergone and infrastructure facilities had positive and significant relationship
with ICT utilization of extension personnel. Educational status, innovation proneness,
attitude, knowledge about ICTs had positive and highly significant relationship with
ICT utilization of extension personnel. Age had highly significant and negative
association with ICT utilization of extension personnel.
The characteristics viz., gender, work experience, native place, achievement
motivation, job commitment and professional zeal had non-significant association with
ICT utilization of extension personnel.
The important constraints faced by the extension personnel were lack of training
on ICT, high cost and lack of fund for equipments, lack of farmers interest in ICT based
transfer of technology, poor infrastructure facilities, poor technical know-how, lack of
motivation to use ICT based extension, difficulty in developing content in local
language, slow internet connectivity, adverse effect on eyesight and back
ache/headache/ hand pain.
The suggestions offered by extension personnel to overcome the constraints
were adequate and timely training on ICT, maintenance of already installed equipments
should be regular, awareness about the uses and effectiveness of ICT among various
stakeholders, enough fund should be provided for ICT facilities and services,
uninterrupted power and internet facilities should be ensured and selection of ICT tools
should be proper, location specific and need based.