Access and use of information and communication technologies by the farmers: A case study of Punjab

Information and communication technology (ICT) is an emerging way of disseminating farm information. The present study was conducted to evaluate accessibility and usage pattern of ICTs among members of progressive farmers association. Data were collected from randomly selected 120 respondents with the help of structured interview schedule. All the respondents owned mobile phones and internet connections. Study revealed that WhatsApp was most preferably adopted ICT and accessed by 93.40 per cent respondents followed by use of YouTube (7 6.16%), Facebook (59.16%) and PAU farmer portal (29.17%) for acquiring farm information. ICT tools helped the respondents accessing information regarding availability of inputs, crop production, quality of inputs and marketing of produce. Each respondent were usually found to receive 94 WhatsApp messages, linked to 356 farmers through Facebook and farmers’ mean usage time for ICTs was also calculated. Age and farming experience of the respondents found to be negatively correlated to the ICT use, however education of the respondents exhibited significantly positive correlation. Study suggests strengthening of ICT based extension services and foster competency skills of stakeholders and extension personnel in use of ICT tools.