International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue IX, September 2022|ISSN 2454-6186

Development of A Scale for Assessing Farmers’ Knowledge of ICT-based Agricultural Advisory Services in Bangladesh

Md. Abu Sayem^1*, Md. Faruq Hasan², Md. Sekender Ali^3
1PhD fellow (NATP), Department of Agricultural Extension, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur and Deputy Director (LR), Department of Agricultural Extension, Khamarbari, Dhaka, Bangladesh
²Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur
³Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension and Information System, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka
*Corresponding Author’s

Abstract: The agriculture sector is increasingly becoming knowledge-intensive where farmers require more information. ICT-enabled services help in disseminating timely information and agricultural advisories to enrich farmers’ capacity and empower them with contemporary farming technologies and techniques in Bangladesh. To measure farmers’ level of knowledge on the utilization of ICT-based Agricultural Advisory Services (AASs) in Bangladesh, there was no standardized scale available. The goal of this study was to build and standardize the scale. Initially, 54 items were collected after thorough consultation with relevant experts and available literature. Then, 36 statements were selected where six items from each of the six levels of the cognitive domain. After conducting a pre-test on 24 farmers (four farmers from each six districts of three agricultural regions) of the representative part of the research population, was selected. Through item analysis the difficulty index values ranging from 20.83 to 70.83 and the discrimination index values ranging from 0.25 to 0.75 were included in the final format of the knowledge scale in the current study. The aforesaid procedures indicate that the face, content, construct and ecological validity were all built during its construction. Moreover, Cronbach’s coefficient alpha value (0.922) and split half value (0.922) of items indicated very strong internal consistency and reliability of the items. With the proper changes, this scale can be used to assess farmers’ knowledge of ICT outside the research area.

Keywords: Knowledge scale, ICT, Agricultural Advisory Services, Difficulty, Discrimination

I. INTRODUCTION

Digital agriculture can drive the transformation of agri-food systems necessary to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty and build a stronger future for all humanity (FAO, 2021). The agriculture sector is increasingly becoming knowledge-intensive where farmers require more information to make complex decisions on their land use, selection of crops, flexibility in the choice of markets for their produce and other necessary decisions that impact their lives. Using ICT in innovative ways through ICT-enabled services helps in disseminating timely information and agricultural advisories to improve farmers’ capacity and empower them with contemporary farming technologies and techniques (The Daily Star, 2015).

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