Constraints Faced by Sericultural Farmers of Murshidabad district with the Advisory Services of SMSs through mKisan portal

Risk and uncertainty are omnipresent in sericulture and have copious sources. The farmer's exposure to risk and uncertainty is often provoked by lack of information about required inputs and crop management practices etc., and this lack of information has an adverse impact on cocoon production as well as the income of the farmers from sericulture. To lessen the information gap, Govt. of India launched mKisan portal to deliver updated information to the farmers through Short Message Services (SMSs) in agriculture and its allied sectors. The SMSs were also sent to the sericultural farmers of Murshidabad by CSR&TI, Berhampore. This research paper identified the various constraints perceived by the subscriber farmers with the SMSs of mKisan portal. The data was collected from 100 respondents, selected by stratified random sampling, from four villages of two different blocks of Murshidabad district. It was analyzed with Garrett ranking technique to find out the severity of these constraints. Further SWOT analysis of SMS service of mKisan portal was done to suggest strategy through SWOT strategy management for improving its service for sericultural farming community. It was suggested that the constraints can be overcome by initiating a helpline number for the sericultural farmers, i.e., PULL SMS service and also voice message facility for the farmers.