Knowledge Level of Farmers in Accessing Agricultural Information through Smartphone

The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge level of rice, millets, and cotton farmers on accessing agricultural information through smartphone. Ex Post Facto Research Design was followed in this study since it aimed to assess the knowledge level of farmers. The study was conducted during May and June 2022. It was decided to conduct the study on three types of crops representing wetland, dryland and commercial conditions, for comparison purposes. Based on maximum area under cultivation in the state, rice for wetland condition, millets for dryland condition and cotton for commercial farming were selected for the research. The study was conducted in three districts viz., Thanjavur, Salem and Virudhunagar, which were selected based on the highest area under rice, millets and cotton respectively. From each of the three districts, two blocks were selected and from the selected blocks, three villages from each block were selected for the study based on maximum area under the rice, millets, and cotton crop. Based on proportionate random sampling technique, 180 respondents were selected for the study. The responses of the respondents were subjected to frequency and percentage analysis. Most of the millet growers (90.00%), rice growers (86.67%), and cotton growers (85.00%) had low level of overall knowledge on accessing agricultural information through smartphone. Majority of the rice, millets, and cotton respondents had high level of knowledge on Uzhavan app, PM Kisan web portal, Google Pay, WhatsApp, and Google Play Store. The knowledge level could be enhanced by more promotional activities of extension workers by conducting awareness campaigns on important mobile apps and web portals related to agriculture, and by conducting trainings and demonstrations on utilizing smartphones for accessing agricultural information through browsing internet, mobile apps, and web portals.