Farmers’ Attitude towards ICT-based Extension Services in West Bengal

The advent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution has a significant impact on agricultural extension, which is constantly being transformed from a mere process of technology transfer to a process of facilitating varied information and advisory services. Present study assessed the farmers’ attitude towards ICT-based extension services in the state of West Bengal. Using purposive selection, one agriculturally prosperous district (Purba Burdwan) and another backward district (Birbhum) were chosen to draw a comparative analysis, constituting a randomly selected sample of 160 respondents. The study revealed a significant difference in the level of attitude among the farmers of both the sampled districts, with majority of the farmers of Purba Burdwan district showing favourable attitude, while most of the Birbhum district farmers showing unfavourable attitude towards ICT-based extension services. Relationship analysis between selected independent variables and attitude of the respondents towards ICT-based extension services showed positive and significant relation with annual income, land-holding, possession of ICT tools, training undergone, social participation, innovativeness, information-seeking behaviour, e-readiness, economic-orientation, risk-orientation and scientific-orientation.