Analyses of Kisan Mobile Advisory Services in Hazaribag, Jharkhand

Kisan Mobile Advisory Service (KMAS) was launched for sending agriculture information through message service (SMS). The content of message was typed in Hindi language including information related to Agronomy, Horticulture, Plant Protection, Animal Science, etc. and was sent to the users. A total of 150 farmers were randomly surveyed to know their reaction about the KMAS. Results of the survey showed that majority of the farmers found information on agriculture in the form of SMS through mobile phone useful (69.3%), comprehensible (74.7%), and timely (64.7%). About 15 percent farmers who registered for KMAS did not utilize the service. About 9 per cent of the users could not decode SMS due to language barrier. Lack of the interest of the beneficiary due to excessive length of the content was reported by 12.7 per cent of the farmers.