Assessment of e-readiness of extension functionaries of southern states of India in agricultural technology dissemination

Agricultural extension functionaries in India have an important role in dissemination of agricultural technologies to enhance the productivity of the farming community but to implement e-extension initiatives into effectual function, an extension officer must be e-ready to adopt new initiatives for quicker dissemination. A congenial eco-system for e-extension is need to be created for effective implementation of ICT enabled extension. The study investigated the preparedness of the extension professionals and extension organizations to implement ICT enabled extension services for farming community. In this study, e-readiness is defined in terms of awareness, knowledge, accessibility, perception and extent of utilization of ICT tools by extension personnel in agricultural extension system. The present study was conducted in five southern states of India to measure e-readiness of the public sector agricultural extension functionaries towards use of ICTs. A total number of 500 officers of agriculture and allied departments from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Odisha were selected randomly for the study. The data was collected from development officers using structured Interview schedules, questionnaires and check lists. The findings of the study showed that more than 60 per cent of officers perceived moderately favourable attitude towards usage of ICT tools for dissemination of farm information.