“Knowledge and Utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Agricultural Sector, its Problems and Prospects- A Study in Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam, India”

Abstract

Agriculture is different from other industry and it plays a vital role in the economic development of a country. In a country like India, its prosperity depends upon the development of agricultural. There are different sorts of agricultural products that have been produced in India and therefore the production and marketing of these farm products is quite difficult. Awareness of farmers regarding different methods of production, components of market information and its utility is generally verypoor with compared to the traders. In this context, Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have a great role to change the existing traditional agricultural system in developing countries. An attempt is made to study the relationship between various socio-economic factors and knowledge and utilization of ICT in agricultural sector in Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam. Apart from these, problems and prospects of using ICT in agricultural sector is also analysed in the study area. Through application of ICTs in agriculture it is possible to; make efficient information dissemination, bring precision agriculture, production decision and increase market access of farmers.  Now-a-days, most of the farmers of developing countries majority of rural farmers’ have access to ICT tools. However, most of the farmers have no enough awareness on the significance role of ICTs for agricultural production and its subsequent impact on welfare improvement. It is found that age and farm experience, extension contact and agricultural enterprise are negatively associated with knowledge and utilization of ICT among farmers. On the other hand, education, land holding, income and mass media participation are found to have positive correlation with knowledge and utilization of ICT among farmers. Lack of awareness, lack of reliable content in vernacular medium and high cost are some significant constraints of using ICT in agriculture. Therefore, proper training, provision of adequate training channelizing ICT to farmers through farmers organization can enhance the use of ICT in agriculture