Pages 2021-4.cdr 6731 ICT Use Behaviour of Agricultural Line Department Officials Of Odisha Bhavana Sajeev ABSTRACT Informa�on and Communica�on Technology (ICT) tools will play a prime role in agriculture and allied sectors in future. This study was conducted in 2021 to examine the a�tude of agricultural line department officials towards the use of ICT tools. Purposively Khordha district of Odisha was taken for the study. For the present study, 105 respondents (22 district level agricultural officials, 59 block level agricultural officials and 24 village level agricultural officials) were selected by following stra�fied random sampling method. The results revealed that the district level and block level agricultural officials have most favourable a�tude towards almost all the ICT tools. In comparison, village level officials favoured only Mobile phone and Television. The study has recommended proper awareness, training and knowledge of ICT tools, and uninterrupted power supply in the offices to rec�fy the constraints in handling of ICT tools. Keywords: Informa�on and communica�on technology;ICT use behaviour; A�tude; Department officials; Odisha Research Article Journal of Extension Educa�on Vol. 33 No.4, 2021 DOI: h�ps://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2021.4.33.6731-6737 Department of Extension Educa�on, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha - 751 003 Received: 14-02-2022; Accepted: 31-08-2022 INTRODUCTION The applica�on-level usage of ICT in various sectors of the global economy has been considered to have the upper hand in boos�ng produc�vity and work efficiency. The prac�cality of ICTs possesses the poten�al to iden�fy and find a relevant solu�on to some of the major problems faced in the agriculture field, which include pest and disease outbreaks, prolonged droughts, seasonality and spa�al dispersion of farming; informa�on asymmetry, and high transac�on costs (Anh et al., 2019). The use of ICT along the agricultural value chain (from farm to fork) could provide a stream of opportuni�es for actors within the chain to a� a i n � m e l y, a cc u rat e a n d re l eva nt informa�on; which will not only contribute to profitability, but also enhance food security, remunera�ve and sustainable agriculture (Purnomo and Lee, 2010). The ICT also has the prospect to ramify the challenges by farmers, governments and other land users in registra�on, valua�on and land taxa�on. For instance, the d i g i t a l i z a � o n of l a n d a d m i n i s t r a � ve a c � v i � e s i n I n d i a r e l i e v e d f a r m e r s approximately 1.32 million working days of man-hours and about 806 million rupees in bribe due to the improved system, thus reducing levels of corrup�on (Daum, 2020). Odisha has gone ahead as it could be the first state in the country which has adopted ICT as a state development tool for providing healthcare services at the door step of the ci�zen. There are several ICT tools and programmes in use throughout the world that have been designed to increase communica�on among extension workers and other stakeholders in the agriculture value chain. Extension workers are mandated to deliver agricultural informa�on to farmers related to pest, disease, climate, marke�ng availability of products etc. ICTs have the ability to close the communica�on gap between extension, research, and farmers. Extension workers have the skills and the ability but require a be�er pathway to acquire and propagate informa�on to the allied subjects. Hence, the objec�ve of this study was to determine how agricultural line department officials felt about the benefits of ICTs, how they used ICTs in their jobs, and how they disseminated and transferred innova�ons and technology for agricultural growth. METHODOLOGY The study had included all the agricultural line department officials such as District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Assistant Agricultural Officer (AAO), Assistant H o r � c u l t u r e O ffi c e r ( A H O ) , V i l l a g e Agricultural Worker (VAW), Women Village Agricultural Worker (WVAW) and Subject Ma�er Specialists (SMS) from Khordha district of Odisha State (India). A total of 105 respondents comprising 22 district level a g r i c u l t u r a l offi c i a l s , 5 9 b l o c k l eve l agricultural officials and 24 village level agricultural officials were selected using a stra�fied random sampling method. An interview schedule was constructed for assembling the data from the agricultural line department officials. The secondary source of data was combined from journals, t h e s e s , i nte r n et a n d offi c i a l re co rd s retrieved from agricultural department. The data collected from the sample respondents were coded, analysed and tabulated for compara�ve study. The conclusions derived from the data analysis w e re a p t l y c o n s t r u e d a n d e s s e n � a l deduc�ons and implica�ons were brought in. Descrip�ve sta�s�cs and ranking were used for the data processing and analysis. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION It could be observed from Tables 1, 2 and 3 that the district level and block level agricultural officials had ‘most favourable’ a�tude towards almost all the computer related and internet related ICT tools whereas the village level agricultural officials were having most favouarble a�tude towards audio related and audio- visual related ICT tools. The probable reason may be due to the lack of skill in 6732ICT Use Behaviour of Agricultural Line Department Officials Of Odisha D Audio-visual related 1 Television 17 77.27 5 22.73 0 0.00 2.77 V 2 Video conferencing 19 86.36 3 13.64 0 0.00 2.86 III 3 Tablet device 16 72.73 4 18.18 2 9.09 2.64 VI 4 Smart TV 13 59.09 8 36.36 1 4.55 2.55 VII 5 DVD player 9 40.91 8 36.36 5 22.73 2.18 X Table 1. Distribu�on of District Level Officials According to their A�tude towards ICT Tools Sl.No. CATEGORY DISTRICT LEVEL OFFICIALS (n=22) Most favourable Favourable Unfavourable Mean Rank F % F % F % A Computer related 1 Microso� package 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 2 Laptop 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 3 USB 17 77.27 5 22.73 0 0.00 2.77 V 4 Memory card 13 59.09 7 31.82 2 9.09 2.50 VIII 5 Fax 4 18.18 4 18.18 14 63.64 1.55 XIV 6 Digital camera 8 36.36 12 54.55 2 9.09 2.27 IX B Internet related 1 Internet services 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 2 Social media 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 3 E-mail 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 4 Web based search engines 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 5 Modem 18 81.82 4 18.18 0 0.00 2.82 IV 6 e-journals 9 40.91 6 27.27 7 31.82 2.09 XI C Audio related 1 Mobile phone 22 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 2 Microphone 6 27.27 8 36.36 8 36.36 1.91 XII 3 Landline phone 5 22.73 7 31.82 10 45.45 1.77 XIII 4 Bluetooth 17 77.27 5 22.73 0 0.00 2.77 V 5 Headphone 21 95.45 1 4.55 0 0.00 2.95 II 6 Radio 5 22.73 7 31.82 10 45.45 1.77 XIII Journal of Extension Educa�on6733 u�liza�on of computer related and Internet related tools by the village level agricultural officials and the easiness in u�liza�on of Mobile phone and Television. This finding is in line with the findings of Kabir and Roy (2015). The main constraint that limits the village level agricultural officials in the use of computer related and internet related ICT tools was the lack of exposure and training. Similar observa�on was also made by Naveenkumar and Philip (2020). D Audio-visual related 1 Television 34 57.63 17 28.81 8 13.56 2.44 XI 2 Video conferencing 49 83.05 10 16.95 0 0.00 2.83 VI 3 Tablet device 41 69.49 12 20.34 6 10.17 2.59 IX 4 Smart TV 49 83.05 8 13.56 2 3.39 2.80 VII 5 DVD player 34 57.63 20 33.90 5 8.47 2.49 X 6734 Table 2. Distribu�on of Block Level Officials According to their A�tude towards ICT Tools Sl.No. CATEGORY BLOCK LEVEL OFFICIALS (n=59) Most favourable Favourable Unfavourable Mean Rank F % F % F % A Computer related 1 Microso� package 53 89.83 6 10.17 0 0.00 2.90 IV 2 Laptop 54 91.53 5 8.47 0 0.00 2.92 III 3 USB 34 57.63 17 28.81 8 13.56 2.44 XI 4 Memory card 27 45.76 26 44.07 6 10.17 2.36 XIII 5 Fax 9 15.25 17 28.81 33 55.93 1.59 XVII 6 Digital camera 12 20.34 41 69.49 6 10.17 2.10 XIV B Internet related 1 Internet services 51 86.44 8 13.56 0 0.00 2.86 V 2 Social media 59 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 3 E-mail 57 96.61 2 3.39 0 0.00 2.97 II 4 Web based search engines 59 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 5 Modem 23 38.98 36 61.02 0 0.00 2.39 XII 6 e-journals 13 22.03 38 64.41 8 13.56 2.08 XV C Audio related 1 Mobile phone 59 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 2 Microphone 15 25.42 35 59.32 9 15.25 2.10 XIV 3 Landline phone 13 22.03 14 23.73 32 54.24 1.68 XVI 4 Bluetooth 45 76.27 14 23.73 0 0.00 2.76 VIII 5 Headphone 51 86.44 8 13.56 0 0.00 2.86 V 6 Radio 9 15.25 8 13.56 42 71.19 1.44 XVIII ICT Use Behaviour of Agricultural Line Department Officials Of Odisha D Audio-visual related 1 Television 24 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 2 Video conferencing 23 95.83 1 4.17 0 0.00 2.96 II 3 Tablet device 13 54.17 10 41.67 1 4.17 2.50 X 4 Smart TV 11 45.83 9 37.50 4 16.67 2.29 XII 5 DVD player 14 58.33 7 29.17 3 12.50 2.46 XI Table 3. Distribu�on of Village Level Officials According to their A�tude towards ICT Tools Sl.No. CATEGORY VILLAGE LEVEL OFFICIALS (n=24) Most favourable Favourable Unfavourable Mean Rank F % F % F % A Computer related 1 Microso� package 11 45.83 7 29.17 6 25.00 2.21 XIII 2 Laptop 22 91.67 2 8.33 0 0.00 2.92 III 3 USB 7 29.17 8 33.33 9 37.50 1.92 XV 4 Memory card 5 20.83 10 41.67 9 37.50 1.83 XVI 5 Fax 0 0.00 8 33.33 16 66.67 1.33 XIX 6 Digital camera 3 12.50 14 58.33 7 29.17 1.83 XVI B Internet related 1 Internet services 19 79.17 5 20.83 0 0.00 2.79 VI 2 Social media 21 87.50 3 12.50 0 0.00 2.88 IV 3 E-mail 13 54.17 9 37.50 2 8.33 2.46 XI 4 Web based search engines 17 70.83 7 29.17 0 0.00 2.71 VII 5 Modem 9 37.50 8 33.33 7 29.17 2.08 XIV 6 e-journals 6 25.00 6 25.00 12 50.00 1.75 XVII C Audio related 1 Mobile phone 24 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.00 I 2 Microphone 3 12.50 4 16.67 17 70.83 1.42 XVIII 3 Landline phone 20 83.33 4 16.67 0 0.00 2.83 V 4 Bluetooth 15 62.50 7 29.17 2 8.33 2.54 IX 5 Headphone 20 83.33 4 16.67 0 0.00 2.83 V 6 Radio 16 66.67 8 33.33 0 0.00 2.67 VIII 6735 Journal of Extension Educa�on CONCLUSION E - a g r i c u l t u r e e n c o m p a s s e s a c a s c a d e o f i n p u t p r o c e s s s u c h a s conceptualiza�on, design, development, evalua�on and applica�on of innova�ve way to use ICT in the rural realm, with key a�en�on on agriculture. ICTs are hence highly per�nent for agricultural line d e p a r t m e n t o ffi c i a l s , r e s e a r c h e r s , func�onaries and organiza�ons. The study has revealed that the district level and block level agricultural officials had the skills inbuilt in the use of the ICT tools when compared with the village level agricultural officials. Therefore, the district level and block level agricultural officials exhibited a most favourable a�tude towards the computer related and internet related ICT tools where as village agricultural officials had a most favourable a�tude towards audio related and audio-visual related ICT tools. The main reason behind this result was the lack of training given to the village agricultural officials in the use of ICT tools. Hence, proper knowledge and awareness must be disseminated to all the levels of agricultural officials for effec�ve u�liza�on of ICT tools. 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