A Study on Mass Media Channels in Promulgating Farm Technologies among Banana Growers in Trichy District of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Farming decisions are crucial to farm productivity ie., providing technical agro information to the farmers at the right time in a right way that leads to assured good yield and sustainable economic returns. In the digital era, there is a clear cut digital gap between knowledge centres and individual farmers. Though knowledge centres develop many novel technologies to disseminate farm information to farmers, the individual farmer face difficulties in accessing those information. Thus bridging the information gap is crucial for extension services to occupy a strategic position in the transfer of technology (ToT) in the agricultural sector. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools such as Electronic media (Radio, television) print media (newspapers, magazines, posters and notices etc.,) and new media (Computer, Internet, Website, Smartphone, Social media) play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the source (Knowledge centres) and target audience (Farmers). In the information explosion era, digital interventions could revitalize the ToT practices. The present study assesses the satisfaction level of mass media communication in the dissemination of cultivation technology among banana farmers in Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu.