A Study on the Knowledge about Information and Communication Technology Tools of Paddy Growers in the Nuapada District of Odisha

The study was conducted in the Nuapada District of Odisha to assess the knowledge of information and communications technology (ICT) tools by Paddy growers the in Nuapada district of Odisha. A total number of 120 respondents were selected randomly from six villages under the Nuapada block because productivity, production, and area under rice cultivation were found to be maximum. The data were collected by personnel interview method by using a pre-structured interview schedule and later appropriate statistical analysis was done to find out the meaningful results. The findings of the study revealed that 54.16 percent of the respondents belonged to the middle-aged group, 59.16% of the respondents belonged to the OBC caste and the majority of the respondents belong to medium-level of annual income i.e., 50,000 – 1 lakh. Moreover, 45.83% of the respondents had medium-level knowledge about rice cultivation practices. The findings also revealed that 48.34 percent of respondents had medium-level knowledge about information and communications technology tools followed by 30 percent and 21.66 percent of the respondents with high and low levels of knowledge, respectively. It was found that independent variables like age, caste, and economic motivation were positively and significantly correlated with knowledge about ICT tools by the respondents.