Role of Kisan Mobile Sandesh in Enhancing Technical Knowledge and Adoption among Farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The research evaluated the effect of Kisan Mobile Sandesh (KMS), an ICT extension service, on building technical knowledge and adoption of recommended agricultural practices among farmers of Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. An ex-post facto research design was followed, and 117 registered farmers were chosen using purposive and random sampling. Knowledge, adoption, issues encountered, and recommendation for improvement among farmers were gathered through data. Results indicated that KMS greatly enhanced the technical knowledge and adoption behavior of farmers. The percentage of respondents in the low knowledge category went down by 17%, while medium and high knowledge levels rose by 8% and 9% respectively. Likewise, in adoption, the low adoption category went down drastically by 25%, while medium and high adoption levels went up by 14% and 11% respectively. This highlights the supportive role of KMS in filling the information gap and bringing about better practices. But a number of constraints were found, the key one being weak mobile network coverage (72.6%), followed by message content-related issues, unavailability of supportive literature, language issues, and delayed delivery. The beneficiaries recommended lengthening messages (up to 185 words), sending approximately five messages weekly, and sending advisories in Hindi or local language. The research finds that KMS is an efficient ICT-enabled extension tool, and resolving operational matters can make it even more effective towards sustainable agricultural development.