Vol. 12, Special Issue 8 (2023)

Author(s):
Rushabhkumar Patel and Dr. Mehul G Thakkar

Abstract:
In an agrarian economy like India wherein majority of Indian population depend on agriculture and allied occupation; there is an urgent need to give a facelift to our agriculture from a tradition-bound subsistence oriented farming system to commercial market driven techno savvy production with emphasis on value addition, quality, efficiency and export orientation. Use of ICT tools, techniques and applications can have galvanizing effect on Indian agriculture and it can positively affect farmers’ productivity and income. Ironically, use of Agricultural Apps is still at a nascent stage in India as compared to other countries. The challenges of irrelevant data, lack of knowledge of technology, training for usage seem to be stumbling blocks to wide spread awareness and usage. In this regard, the present Empirical Research Paper, utilizing the published theoretical literature and Communication Approach of the Descriptive Cross-sectional research design, assesses the awareness, expectations and usage of agricultural apps by farmers in Banaskantha district of Gujarat. Based on a survey of 200 farmers selected through multi-stage sampling method, this study found that there is a big gap between farmers’ awareness and usage of agricultural apps. The findings suggest that majority (94%) farmers are aware about Agri Apps, but only 52.13% of them are users of it. Further, farmers use Agri. Apps mostly for weather forecasting data, crop insurance, market price, crop advisory and input purchase. The top three most expected features in Agricultural Apps are found to be weather forecasting, pest & disease management and nutrient management. The outcome of this hitherto research study will help the Agritech companies in developing Agricultural Apps by incorporating expected features and it will also be useful for the extension functionaries to develop strategies to popularize the usage of Agricultural Apps among the farmers; ultimately contributing to the missionary goal of doubling farmers’ income.