ICT Intervention in delivery of advisory services during pandemic of COVID-19: A Case study
R.K. Singh1, R.P. Singh2, A.K. Singh3, V.P. Singh4, S.P. Upadhyay5, and A.K. Srivastava6
1Subject Matter Specialist-Agril. Extension, 2Senior Scientist & Head, 3Subject Matter Specialist-Agronomy, 4Subject Matter Specialist-Animal Science, 5Subject Matter Specialist-Soil Science, 6Subject Matter Specialist-Horticulture, Mahayogi Gorakhnath Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Chaukmafi (Peppeganj), Gorakhpur (U.P.)
Corresponding author E mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The objective of this article is to comparatively explore the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) interventions in the dissemination of agricultural information by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra before and during pandemic of Coronavirus as well as aware to the famers about containment of the pandemic spread of novel Coronavirus. The research adopted a quantitative research approach, while the study data were collected through the office of the KVK-II (MGKK) of Gorakhpur district (U.P.). The study revealed that the use of ICT interventions that include WhatsApp group, Facebook page, Website of the KVK, You tube channel, Personal phone calls, Radio talk, Tv talk, Text message, Audio Conference and Video conference etc. have an average increase up to 551.62% during pandemic in comparison to before the pandemic of COVID-19. This research not only explores the exiting status of ICT interventions to deliver the advisory services during Corona period but also provides a number of implications for the government, practitioners, policymakers and researchers for the effective utilization of the existing ICT interventions and for the future potential research and technological development to aware about containment of the pandemic spread of COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19, Coronavirus, pandemic, KVK, ICT intervention.
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A Precise answer of the question help the researcher, policy maker and stake holder to make the cultivation more SMART by digital ways.
Intuition suggests the COVID-19 pandemic may—at long last—actually be accelerating digital transformation in the agricultural sector: it presents an opportunity to improve digital infrastructure and ensure more robust support systems for smallholder farmers to secure essential farm operations, keep food supply chains moving, and reach vulnerable populations. Of course, success never comes out of nowhere: everything points to the need for (1) enabling policy and regulatory frameworks in line with well thought-out investments in digital infrastructure at local, national, and even regional levels; (2) development of applications; and (3) capacities and skills for development, implementation, and sustainable operation and maintenance.
One of the most prominent policies that countries take to protect people from the threat of a pandemic is to quarantine the areas where the epidemic is spreading. And also the work of curfews and the closure of borders between countries ..etc
Olivier Serrat Dear sir, Thanks a lot for your quick response and support.
At the global level, there is a plethora of ICT applications to agriculture, and platforms and communities of practice facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst farmers, policy makers, agriculture and development experts and international organizations. They raise awareness on how ICTs can contribute to many aspects of agricultural development. The ICT in Agriculture Sourcebook is an on-line practical guide (provided by the World Bank) in understanding current trends, implementing appropriate interventions that promote ICTs, and evaluating their impact. It combines expertise in ICT with empirical knowledge on agriculture and is designed to support practitioners, decision-makers, and development partners who work at the intersection of ICT and agriculture. Building on existing communities of practice and complementing systems already in-place, significant improvements in the use of ICTs for facilitating the adoption of sustainable production intensification technologies could be achieved through a collaborative technical platform, the ICT for Sustainable Agricultural Production Innovation Lab. Its activities will aim at generating ideas, developing pilot state-of-art applications, create prototypes, test and scale solutions that can be adopted in different locations and within a multi-stakeholder context.