An Appraisal of WhatsApp Group in Extension Advisory Services: A Case of KVK IVRI Bareilly

Social media tools such as WhatsApp offers new dimension for sharing and dissemination of useful farm information which improves the efficiency of extension system and enrich the farmers knowledge. Considering the potential of social media tool in delivery of extension services, present study was undertaken to assess the potential of WhatsApp group in terms of information dissemination and perception of farmers'towards WhatsApp. The WhatsApp group i.e., KVK IVRI Bareilly, an officially approved whatsApp group, was created in January 2016, data were collected during August-October 2018 followed by post intervention feedback from 120 respondents. Results revealed that 75 per cent farmers'enquired about pesticide, pest, disease management in crops, followed by 70.83 per cent farmers enquired about seed rate, varieties, 66.67 per cent asked about B-N Hybrid for green fodder and 62.5 per cent enquired about animal husbandry. The enquiries asked by farmers were in the form of photos, video and post. The response to queries was given by experts, input dealers, agripreneure and farmers. Post intervention study revealed that 87.5 per cent of farmers'were satisfied with the advisory services offered by WhatsApp group. Further, 75 per cent respondents perceived feedback as instant reply within same day on their queries which was a contributing factors in perception of stakeholders towards the use of WhatsApp in accessing the farm information.