Effectiveness of the SMS advisory service under Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS)

Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) was started by the Government of India under the Ministry of Earth Sciences for informing the farmers regarding adverse weather conditions so that they could take required steps and precautionary measures. In the present study among beneficiaries, 122 farmers were selected from five districts of Punjab who were contacted telephonically. The responses of the selected farmers were taken on parameters like need, timeliness, understandability and applicability of the information sent through SMSs to farmers under GKMS scheme regarding the forecast of weather. Information was reported to be needful and timely by 62.29 per cent of the farmers; 50.82 per cent of the farmers responded that the information was understandable up to medium level whereas 43.44 per cent farmers found the information medium applicable. The overall impact of the information was found to be high with 77.05 per cent of the farmers and effectiveness index was found to be high on 73.77 per cent of the farmers. It was observed that messages received should be in local language so that farmers could readily understand and comprehend the information. At the same time the terminology used in the message should always be farmer-friendly so that it is interpreted by the farmers as intended. The farmers were of the opinion that in the present scenario weather varies within small distances therefore it becomes imperative that the messages are location-specific to increase their worth.