| Research,
education and extension are the major pillars of agricultural development and, particularly,
agriculture extension (or outreach) is considered one of the most important
institutional components of agriculture. However economical and demand driven
agri. extension system remains a challenge for most developing countries and Pakistan is no
exception (Davidson et al. 2001; Kidds et al. 2000). Our traditional extension
system, which is generally based on face-to-face and group contact methods, is
struggling to keep up with rapidly changing technological developments,
increase in population and diverse needs of the farmers. ICT based information
delivery system is often presented as an alternative strategy for agricultural
technology transfer; and in Pakistan
many agricultural websites are working under the umbrella of the government and
private sector. Most of these information portals are based on one-way flow of
information; but considering that majority farmers are illiterate, there are
very few who have access to online resources and can actually utilize such
information sources. This situation calls for innovative solutions keeping in
view the rural context of Pakistan.
The University of Agriculture
in Faisalabad is managing innovative ‘cyber
extension’ projects with the collaboration of public and private sector in Pakistan’s Punjab
province. Establishment of village information centres (information kiosks) and
interactive communication are key features of these initiatives. In this
perspective, the main research questions addressed in this paper are:
- Which factors limit the access of
farmers to agricultural information particularly ICT based extension in
the Punjab province of Pakistan?
- How are cyber extension initiatives
addressing the challenges faced by the agri. extension system in Punjab?
- How are (illiterate) farmers utilizing
ICT based extension (cyber extension) through these initiatives?
- What is the potential of ICT based
agri. extension system for improving agricultural productivity, poverty
reduction and overall economy of the country?
Qualitative
approach was the main strategy of data collection, while quantitative data was also
collected by using a purposely developed interview schedule. The data was collected
from farmers, agri. extension personnel and experts etc. Based on the empirical
findings, this paper recommends that ICT based (cyber) extension should be a
permanent feature of agri. extension system, however there is need to integrate
the efforts of different organisations to avoid parallel and duplicate activities.
Similarly, an intensive situation analysis and needs assessment should be done
before the start of cyber extension at the national level.
References
Davidson, A. P. Ahmad, M. and Ali, T. 2001, ‘Dilemmas
of Agricultural Extension in Pakistan:
Food for Thought’, Agricultural Research and Extension Network (Agren), Network
paper No. 116, July, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, ,
accessed 13 Sept. 2013.
Kidd, A.D. Lamers, J.P.A.
Ficarelli, P.P. and Hoffmann, V. 2000, ‘Privatising Agricultural Extension: caveat emptor’, Journal of
Rural Studies, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 95-102.
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