Rejuvenation of Agriculture Through ICT – an Empirical Analysis with Reference to Women Agriculturists in Tirunelveli

International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 Rejuvenation of agriculture through ICT – An empirical analysis with reference to women agriculturists in Tirunelveli

Dr. B.REVATHY Professor and Head, Department of Commerce, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli-627012, Tamilnadu, India Email: [email protected] Mobile: 94427 81692

Abstract The growth rate in agriculture in Eleventh Plan (2007-12) was 3.3-3.5 percent per year (Planning Commission, 2011) against a target of 4 percent during the XII Plan (2012-17) (CSO). According to FAO, almost 870 million people suffer from chronic undernourishment and hunger around the world. The agricultural sector has been characterized by low productivity growth, infrastructure constraints, supply chain inefficiencies and serious problems with transfer and access to information as the bottlenecks to growth. After the green revolution in the mid-sixties, there has not been any significant technological improvement in the agricultural sector. This paper attempted to determine the level of awareness and access among women farmers regarding the sources of information providers of ICT application in agriculture. Earnest efforts were taken to ascertain the impact of ICT application on women farmers’ empowerment and the women farmers’ obstacles in using ICT in agriculture. The study has covered all the nineteen blocks of Tirunelveli district. 420 respondents are selected out of 1, 19,616 of female agriculturalist on systematic random sampling technique. It is found that there is a mediation effect of access to the sources of information and application of ICT in agriculture between awareness of sources of information providers and women farmers’ empowerment. To achieve higher productivity and growth in the agricultural sector the government and policy makers should invest more in technological innovations and infrastructural development. There has to be an efficient information dissemination system in place for growth and higher productivity in this sector. Farmers need timely and accurate information pertaining to pre harvesting, post harvesting, weather forecasting, and marketing of crops. This would create direct benefits, showing an increase in profitability, reduction in transacting cost, saving of time and reduction in travel costs. Achieving improved and sustainable agricultural production and productivity growth largely depends on the advancement of agricultural research and its effective applications at farmer’s fields through the transfer of technology and innovation. Hence it is vital to revitalize agriculture sector through ICT. Keywords: access, agriculture, awareness, disaster, food security, innovation, productivity, technology.

Introduction “No country will reap the benefits of the network age by waiting for them to fall out of the sky. Today’s technological transformations hinge on each country’s ability to unleash the creativity of its people, enabling them to understand and master technology, to innovate and to adapt technology to their own needs and opportunities”. (Human Development Report, 2001) ************************************************************************** India is a land of villages, where as in India 70% of India’s population resides in villages and around 80% of Tamil Nadu population resides in rural areas. 74% of India`s rural women workforce is engaged in agriculture and agriculture occupies more than one third of the country’s total geographical area. Indian agriculture sector provides employment to 50% of countries workforce. Agriculture is a gigantic sector of the Indian economy as its share to gross domestic product (GDP) is almost 18 per cent. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Indian economy because it contributes for the overall economic growth through supply of food, raw materials and exports.

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2190 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 Agriculture performance has erratically fluctuated widely with a declining trend over the years causing acute food shortage. ICT has to be used to accelerate the food growth rate by using technologies to perform tasks like predict weather conditions, learn about the latest methods to improve farming productivity and gauge the levels of supply/demand based on economic statistics. For enhancing agricultural production, improving market access, and for capacity building and empowerment of farmers, new approaches and technological innovations are required. Thus there is a demonstrable need for a new revolution that will bring lower prices for consumers (through reduced waste and more-efficient supply chain management), to contribute to ‘smart’ agriculture, and to motivate farmers through higher income to increase their production. For a long time public and private sector actors have been searching for effective solutions to address both the long- and short- term challenges in agriculture, including addressing the abundant information needs of communities involved in farming, strengthening value chains, innovating and participating in emerging markets. Contemporary digital technologies for information processing and communication, or ICT as a suite of technology are one of these solutions, and have shown considerable promise in agricultural applications. According to FAO (2011), exchanging information is critical for the stakeholders in agriculture value chain in order to reduce the asymmetries in information and communication as well as to reduce the vicious circle of poverty. Further, the role of ICTs in accessing more information in order to enhance food security and support rural livelihoods has also been increasingly recognized and officially endorsed at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003-2005 (IICD, 2007).

Statement of the Problem Agriculture sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen from 30 percent in 1990-91 to less than 15 percent in 2011-12 (CSO) having a growth rate of 2% (2006-09) [IMF 2006]. The growth of agricultural production and productivity, which has risen significantly during 1970s and 1980s, declined during 1990s. These slowdowns have worsened since 2000; both overall agricultural production and food grains production have been showing negative growth rates during the recent past (GOI, 2017). Decline in the growth rates of agricultural production and productivity is a serious issue considering the questions of food security, livelihood, and environment. Besides, agriculture is also facing new and severe challenges with rising food prices that have pushed over 40 million people into poverty since 2010, more effective interventions are essential in agriculture (World Bank 2011). The growing global population is expected to hit 9.2 billion by 2050 and the demand for food is expected to increase by 60 percent in the next 30 years. Feeding that population will require a 70% increase in food production (FAO 2009). If we fail to meet this production target, food shortages may occur, and social and political stability as well as world security and peace might be threatened. The task of feeding the ever growing population is not going to be an easy task. This has to be attained under existing and foreseeable constraints such as the stagnation of expansion of arable lands, scarcity of water resources, advancing environmental degradation, negative impacts of climate change, natural disasters and emerging diseases, competition between food crops and bio-energy crops in the use of limited natural resources such as land and water, increased use of food grains for animal feed and bio-fuel, rapid urbanization and a declining agricultural labour force, especially young farmers

There is also a growing recognition of farmers and members of rural communities realising the importance of knowledge, information and appropriate learning methods (Greenridge 2003, Lightfoot 2003) in order to move towards development. ICTs therefore can be used as a medium in bridging the information gap. Successful use of information as a resource for agriculture development depends largely on the accessibility and adequacy of the information source, farmers’ preference for a particular information source and farmer’s ability to use information.

Farmers’ Suicides: In recent years, farmers’ suicides have increased in some states. There were 1,67,000 farmers’ suicides in the previous decade. This is one of the darker sides of Indian agriculture. Indebtedness of farmers and increasing risk in agriculture are the main factors responsible for the suicides. Sharper decline in absolute productivity, price uncertainty due to trade liberalization and rise in costs due to domestic liberalization, decline in credit and non-farm work intensified the

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2191 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 crisis. Most of these studies have, rightly, identified household indebtedness as the main reason for the suicides. However, indebtedness is due to increase in input intensity of agriculture. Long-term factors like decline in farm size, groundwater depletion, deterioration in soil quality, etc. have also been responsible for the agrarian crisis and farmers’ suicides.

As per National Crime Records Bureau (2016) motives for farmer suicides include farming- related issue (accounting for 19.5% of the total suicides) bankruptcy or indebtedness (accounting for 38.7 % of the total suicides), poverty, family problems, illness and marriage related issues.

Significance of the study ` Achieving improved and sustainable agricultural production and productivity growth largely depends on the advancement of agricultural research and its effective applications at farmer’s fields through the transfer of technology and innovation. ICTs, GIS, remote sensing, precision farming and many other technologies or processes hold great promises. FAO estimates that 91 percent of the global food production increase towards the year 2050 should come from yield increases of current arable lands based on the advancement of agricultural research, and its application and transmission to farmers through effective research-extension linkages. Indeed, a half billion small family farmers produce most of the food consumed in developing countries. Small-scale farming families play a critical role in increasing food production for our future food security. Yet, they are often constrained in their access to markets, knowledge, new technology and skills, new inputs, emerging value chains and other opportunities. The role of ICTs is recognized in Millennium Development Goal No. 8 (MDG8), which emphasizes the benefits of new technologies, especially ICTs in the fight against poverty. “With 10 percent increase in high-speed internet connections, economic growth increases by 1.3 percent” observed the recent World Bank report on Information and Communication for Development (World Bank, 2009). The same report also observed “connectivity -- whether the Internet or mobile phones -- is increasingly bringing market information, financial services, health services to remote areas, and is helping to change people's lives in unprecedented ways”. Thus innovation is needed and this can be accomplished through more effective products, processes, services, technologies or ideas. In the recent past, ICTs have been playing an important role in promoting innovation in the agriculture sector. By using mobile phone technology, there have been diverse types of innovations taking place in the agriculture sector, which include commodity and stock market price information and analysis, meteorological data collection, advisory services to farmers for agricultural extension, early warning systems for disaster prevention and control, financial services, traceability of agricultural products, agricultural statistical data gathering, etc. The value of these innovative technologies and services should not be underestimated, as improving agricultural extension services to farmers using mobile technology would effectively improve the transmission of agricultural research results for application in farmer’s fields.

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2193 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 Agricultural marketing information available to farmers would not only help farmers to sell their products at better prices, but also provide reliable food price information to policy makers to prevent price volatility and speculation. The role that ICT can play as an instrument of change is potentially transformative. Smallholder farmers, particularly women involved in agriculture, have a huge advantage when the right ICTs are brought into the agriculture value chain. The access to the right information at the right time gives them the capacity to make informed decisions that affect their livelihoods and thereby play a major role in ensuring food security. Literature Review International Birke, F. M., et al (2019) in their study examined as to how agricultural extension experts use Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in extension organizations and how they perceive their usefulness for agriculture extension delivery in Ethiopia. Anyoha NO1., et al (2018) recommended that government should provide rural infrastructure especially electricity supply, good road network etc in Orlu Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria. The study insisted for the establishment of ICT centers where farmers can acquire practical computer training for the enhancement of ICT use. Information on agricultural services and agribusiness should be made available to farmers through their mobile phones in their local language and it should be timely available for effective utilization. Deribe Kaske., et al (2017) in their study which was conducted in Ethiopia to determine the use of mobile phones in agriculture. The study included 320 household heads who owned mobile phones. The results revealed that the majority (90.6%) of household heads made phone calls for agricultural purposes. Over three quarters (85.9%) of the household heads received phone calls related to agriculture. Short message service (SMS) was poorly used. It was concluded that mobile phones are playing an important role as an informational medium.

Paustian, M., et al (2017) in their study, a wide range of farm characteristics and farmer demographics were tested to gain insight into the relevant aspects of adoption of precision farming in German crop farming. The results of a logistic regression analysis showed that predictors with positive influence on the adoption of precision farming are agricultural contractor services such as an additional farming business, with more years of experience in crop farming and with more than 500 ha of arable land. However, having a farm of less than 100 ha and producing barley are factors that exert a negative influence on the adoption of precision farming.

National Ghosh N., et al (2020) in their article have found that the current phase of economic reforms in agriculture is oriented to help farmers reach out to a larger all India market in order to fetch the best prices and to earn higher incomes. The government has already been relaxing regulations to clean the market of imperfections and to improve its efficiency, but moving towards ‘one’ Indian market has become a more targeted objective of reforms. The paper reviewed the fast-changing scenario of institutional reforms and application of ICT as a facilitator of reforms in the agriculture sector. Raviteja K., et al (2020) have elaborated the crucial role played by Internet of things (IoT) in smart agriculture. Farmers are to be provided with an IoT-based Web application for monitoring the agriculture fields and its conditions. With the arrival of open supply Node MCU boards beside low- cost wet sensors, it is viable to make devices that monitor the temperature/humidity sensor and soil wet content associated, and consequently irrigating the fields or the landscape as and when required. Microcontroller Node MCU platform and IoT shall alert farmers to remotely monitor the standing of sprinklers placed on the agricultural farms by knowing the sensing element values, thereby making the farmers’ work a lot easier in different farm-related activities. Ali M., et al. (2019) have established that information and communication technologies can be a key facilitator for more efficient crop production. More importantly, e-agriculture involves the concepts, design, development, assessment, and application of advanced methods to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in the rural areas, focusing on crop production. All stakeholders of crop production system need information and understanding about these stages to manage them efficiently.

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2194 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 El Bilali H., et al (2019) have analysed the potential of ICT in agricultural sector and have explored the benefits of ICT in terms of agriculture smartness and sustainability. The study has provided an overview on the main technologies used, delineated the contours of the smart farming market and landscape. Moreover, some threats and challenges relating to digital and smart technologies need to be appropriately addressed through policies to support the development of the necessary market and legal architecture for ICT and smart farming, with due consideration to ethical questions. Leveau L. et al. (2019) have concluded that the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has to meet the needs of farmers and sustainably support the competitiveness of agriculture in a rapidly changing digital world. The article has suggested four types of IC tools that can effectively be applied in agriculture. Sunil Kumar et al. (2019) in their study have concluded that the livelihood of farmers could be enhanced by utilizing various strategies of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in capacity building, combating climate change and through increasing food production. Market oriented research and investment should also be increased to save our farmers from glut situation and to fetch more income by adopting the concept of FPOs/FPCs in larger context. Panda., et al (2018) have established that ICT has huge potentiality for agricultural and allied sectors growth; and for transforming the farming more interesting, profitable and enjoyable and for retaining the farmers in farming and for attracting the rural youth in agriculture. ‘Advances in ICT in Agriculture’ in its outcome will transform the society into knowledgeable society including the farming community, which is the precursor for trajectory of developing nation to become developed nation and will strengthen our farming based livelihood. But, major underperformance in knowledge sharing is due to linkage failure in research-extension-farmers. Only 20 per cent of developed agricultural technologies reach farmers’ field due to extension linkage failure. Surabhi Singh., et al (2017) explored the various ways to keep our farmers updated about modern technologies and about relevant information. The development and timely dissemination of better personalized technologies specific to different agro-climatic conditions, size of land holding, soil type, types of crops and related pests/diseases is the real issue to brazen out ahead for the agricultural scientists/experts. ICT based initiatives can be taken for propagation of information, transfer of technology, procurement of inputs and selling of outputs in a way so that farmers can be benefitted. The timely information and practical solutions of the agricultural problems helps the farmers to adopt good agricultural practices, to make better choices of inputs and to plan the cultivation properly.

Objectives of the study The objectives of the survey are listed out: 1. To determine the level of awareness among women farmers regarding the sources of information providers of ICT application in agriculture 2. To measure the extent of access of sources of information of ICT in agriculture 3. To assess the intensity of ICT application in agriculture 4. To ascertain the impact of ICT application on women farmers’ empowerment 5. To find out the women farmers’ obstacles in using ICT in agriculture Hypotheses 1. Ha1 - Awareness of sources of information providers of ICT applications in agriculture empowers women farmers 2. Ha2 – Access to the sources of information of ICT applications in agriculture empowers women farmers 3. Ha3 – Application of ICT in agriculture without awareness and appropriate access to the sources of information empowers women farmers 4. Ha4 – there is a mediation effect of access to the sources of information and application of ICT in agriculture between awareness of sources of information providers and women farmers’ empowerment. Methodology Tirunelveli district has 19 Community Development Blocks. The study has covered all the nineteen blocks of Tirunelveli district viz., Palayamkottai, Manur, Melaneelithanallur, Kuruvikulam, Sankarankoil, Ambasamudram, Cheranmahadevi, Pappakudi , Kadayam, Nanguneri, Kalakadu,

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2195 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 Valliyur, Radhapuram, Alangulam, Keezhapavur, Kadayanallur, Shenkottai, Tenkasi, and Vasudevanallur. The researcher has collected the list of women agriculturalists from the Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) of Tirunelveli district. The researcher has used Cochran’s formula for calculating sample size when the population is infinite. Cochran (1977) developed a formula to calculate a representative sample for proportions as z ^ 2pq no  e^ 2 where no is the sample size, z is the selected critical value of desired confidence level, p is the estimated proportion of an attribute that is present in the population, q=1-p and e is the desired level of precision. For example, suppose we want to calculate a sample size of a large population whose degree of variability is not known to assume the maximum variability, which is equal to 50% (p=0.5) and taking 95% confidence level with ± 5% precision, the calculation for required sample size will be as follows- p = 0.5 and hence q = 1-0.5 = 0.5; e = 0.05; z = 1.96

(1.96)ˆ2(0.5)(0.5) no  384.6384 (0.05)ˆ2 Here, the researcher has used Cochran’s formula for calculating sample size when the population is finite. Cochran pointed out that if the population is finite; he has proposed a correction formula to calculate the final sample size. n = no 1+ ( no -1)/N

no = the sample size to be derived from equation. N = population size. N = 1,19,616. According to the formula, the sample size is 384 at 95% confidence level with a margin of error equal to 0.05). If no/N is negligible then no is a satisfactory approximation to the sample size. So, the correction formula is used to calculate the final sample size. Here, N = 1, 19,616, no = 384. 384 푛 = 1 + (384 − 1)/1,19,616 384 = 1 + 383/1,19,616 384 = 1 + 0.0032 383 = 1.0032 Minimum required sample size = 383 samples. 420 respondents are selected out of 1, 19,616 of female agriculturalist on systematic random sampling technique. Out of 420 respondents chosen for the survey, 399 respondents alone responded. Data were collected from 399 respondents with the help of interview schedule. Data collected were analysed using Percentage, Mean, Standard deviation and Path analysis. Limitations of the study The study is confined to 19 blocks of Tirunelveli District. The study has covered only the women agriculturalists. Male agriculturalists are not covered for the survey. The main focus of the study is to ascertain the impact of ICT application in agriculture on the empowerment of women farmers. Hence the study has been restrained to trace the obstacles of the women farmers to use ICT tools in agriculture. Thus all other problems of the faramers namely financial problems, personal problems, operational problems, land issues, irrigation issues and water management issues are not taken into account in this survey.

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2196 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 Result and Discussion 1. Demographic profile of the respondents Table 1 Demographic profile of the respondents Valid Cumulative Particulars Frequency Percent Percent Percent Age 26-30 years 7 1.8 1.8 1.8 31-35 years 63 15.8 15.8 17.5 36- 40 years 98 24.6 24.6 42.1 41 years and above 231 57.9 57.9 100 Total 399 100 100 Marital Status Married 343 86 86 86 Spinsters 56 14 14 100 Total 399 100 100 Level of Education Illiterates 14 3.5 3.5 3.5 Primary School 182 45.6 45.6 49.1 Secondary School 98 24.6 24.6 73.7 Higher Secondary 70 17.5 17.5 91.2 UG and above 35 8.8 8.8 100 Total 399 100 100 Source: Primary data Out of the total 399 respondents, 58 percent of the respondents are aged above 40 years. This proves the fewer participation of youngsters in agriculture. Youngsters are thus relectant to get involved in agriculture and they hunt for other occupations. Feasibility of innovativeness and ICT adoptions are brighter among youngsters than among the aged. Hence younsters are to be motivated towards agriculture to ensure food security of our nation. As to the marital status 86 percent of the respondents are married. Marriage imposes a lot of familty responsibilities and commitments on the individuals. Such responsibilities and commitments are less among spinsters. Higher is the level of maturity and seriouness about life among married than among the spinsters. Hence spinsters’ participation in agriculture is less. As to the level of education among the respondents, it is found that 46 percent of the respondents have done their education upto the Primary school level. 3.5 percent of the respondents are illiterates. And also only 8.8 percent of the respondents are graduates. Ironically there is less participation of graduates in agricuture. Higher the participation of graduates and professionals in agriculture, more will be the ICT applications in agriculture. Table -2 Awareness of sources of information providers of ICT applications in agriculture Radio programmes Mean Std. Deviation Uzhavar ulakam 4.930 .3196 Mannum Manamum 4.053 .6101 Veedum Vayalum 3.228 .8241 Uzhavaruku oru sol 2.561 1.1022 Oorpurathille 3.140 1.0078 Erum oorum 3.684 .9094 Oru sol kelir, intha oor seithigal 4.526 .9839 Mannum maniyum 3.614 1.0309

Poonthottam 3.228 .9067 Uzhavar ulagam 2.807 1.2165 Other Programmes 1.298 .8653 Television program Mean Std. Deviation Pon Vilaiyum Bhoomi (DD) 4.596 .7285 Malarum Bhoomi (Makkal TV) 4.228 .5981 Ulavukku Uyiroottu (Puthiya thalaimurai) 3.421 .8226 Payir Thozhil Pazhagu (News 18) 2.579 .8440 DD Kisan 2.702 .7784 Other Programmes 1.263 .8134 Mobile phone app Mean Std. Deviation Kisan Call Centres 4.895 .4506 Uzhavan app 3.982 .5507 Kisan Suvidha app 2.947 .6923 Other Apps 1.842 .6208 Newspapers and Magazines Mean Std. Deviation Uzhavarin Valarum Velanmai 4.982 .1325 Tamizhaga Vivasayee Ulagam 4.228 1.4518 Other Magazines 3.456 1.2111 Uzhavarin Valarum Velanmai 2.018 .7674 Source: Primary data The level of awareness among women farmers regarding various ICT tools of agriculture is listed out in the above table. As to the Radio programmes highest awareness among the respondents is for “Uzhavar ulakam’ (Mean score is 4.930), followed by Oru sol kelir, intha oor seithigal (Mean score is 4.526). Least awareness is for the program “Uzhavaruku oru sol” (Mean score is 2.561). Analysis of awareness of Television programmes revealed highest awareness for the programme “Pon Vilaiyum Bhoomi (DD)” (Mean score is 4.596) and least awareness is witnessed for the program “Payir Thozhil Pazhagu (News 18)” (Mean score is 2.579). Highest awareness is evidenced for mobile phone messages from Kisan Call Centres. (Mean score is 4.895). Highest mean score of 4.982 is for “Uzhavarin Valarum Velanmai” through Newspapers and magazines. Tremendous efforts are taken for timely dissemination of all sorts of agricultural information to the farmers. Simultaneously promotional measures are required to increase the awareness of these programmes among the farmers. Table 3 Access to sources of information of ICT applications in agriculture Radio programmes Mean Std. Deviation Uzhavar ulakam 4.331 0.283 Mannum Manamum 3.804 0.528 Veedum Vayalum 2.127 0.472 Uzhavaruku oru sol 1.282 1.102 Oorpurathille 2.016 0.628 Erum oorum 2.289 0.517 Oru sol kelir, intha oor seithigal 3.824 0.835 Mannum maniyum 2.001 1.352 Poonthottam 2.253 1.002 Uzhavar ulagam 1.828 1.362 Other Programmes 0.723 0.572 Television program Mean Std. Deviation Pon Vilaiyum Bhoomi (DD) 4.596 0.926 Malarum Bhoomi (Makkal TV) 4.228 0.261

Ulavukku Uyiroottu (Puthiya thalaimurai) 3.421 0.919 Payir Thozhil Pazhagu (News 18) 2.579 1.362 DD Kisan 2.702 0.963 Other Programmes 1.263 1.283 Mobile phone app Mean Std. Deviation Kisan Call Centres 4.272 0.783 Uzhavan app 3.829 0.839 Kisan Suvidha app 1.273 0.923 Other Apps 1.002 0.865 Newspapers and Magazines Mean Std. Deviation Uzhavarin Valarum Velanmai 4.024 0.473 Tamizhaga Vivasayee Ulagam 3.728 0.936 Other Magazines 2.183 1.022 Uzhavarin Valarum Velanmai 0.372 0.653 Source: Primary data The extent of access to sources of information of ICT applications in agriculture is listed out in the above table. As to the Radio programmes highest access by the respondents is for “Uzhavar ulakam’ (Mean score is 4.331). Least access is for the program “Uzhavaruku oru sol” (Mean score is 1.282). Analysis of access to Television programmes revealed the fact of highest access for the programme “Pon Vilaiyum Bhoomi (DD)” (Mean score is 4.596) and least access is witnessed for the program “Payir Thozhil Pazhagu (News 18)” (Mean score is 2.579). As to the television programmes those who were aware of the sources of information have also accessed the sources of information which is evident from their respective mean scores. Highest access is evidenced for mobile phone messages from Kisan Call Centres. (Mean score is 4.272). Highest mean score of 4.024 is for “Uzhavarin Valarum Velanmai” through Newspapers and magazines. But for television programmes, awareness of sources of information providers alone has not guaranteed access to information. Promotional measures are required to increase the access to sources of information of ICT applications in agriculture. Table 4 Application of ICT in Agriculture Std. Sources of Information Mean Deviation Radio 4.965 .2649 Television 4.965 .1856 Mobile Phones 3.421 .6532 Internet 2.298 1.0685 News papers 3.772 .7796 Magazines 3.333 1.2724 Source: Primary data The respondents have taken equal benefits of traditional ICT tools namely Radio and Television ( Mean score is 4.965). Least mean score of 2.298 is for Internet usage. Thus technological illiteracy is the major hindrance among women farmers for the usage of ICT tools in agriculture. All efforts are required to impart technological literacy among farmers. Enhanced application of ICT tools in agriculture shall be ensured only through technological literacy. Table 5 Impact of ICT on women farmers’ empowerment Women farmers’ empowerment Mean Std. Deviation Helps women to overcome farming Illiteracy 4.947 .3974

Assists in breaking isolation of rural women 3.211 .5586

Offers linkages to small scale enterprises 2.316 .5719

Capacity and skill development of rural women 3.982 1.2025

Reduction of poverty 4.140 1.1563

Enhanced participation in decision making 3.386 1.0309

Increased access to financial markets 2.158 .9218

Transformation of traditional gender roles 2.105 1.1289

Increased revenue of rural women 4.123 1.1813

Diversified business development and growth 3.544 .9833

Better entrepreneurial opportunities for women 3.877 1.2966

Reduction of gender discrimination 2.421 1.1011

Elimination of risk of financial loss in harvest 2.667 1.4557

Stimulates women farmers for high productivity 4.298 1.1333

Enhances role of farmers in family budgeting and control 1.807 1.1563 Source: Primary data Application of ICT tools in agriculture has helped women to overcome farming Illiteracy. It has also stimulated women farmers for high productivity. Higher productivity will simultaneously ensure higher returns to the farmers. ICT tools will financially empower the women farmers and shall help them to come out of the vicious circle of poverty. 1. Path analysis between awareness of sources of ICT information providers and women farmers’ empowerment with mediators of access to the sources of information and application of ICT in agriculture

Fig.1. Unstandardized effect size of paths

Fig.2 Standardized effect size of paths Table 6 Outcome Variable Access Model Summary R R- sq MSE F DF 1 DF 2 P .772 .596 .064 81.252 1.000 55.000 .000

Model : 6 from Process Macro X : Awareness Y : Empowerment M1 : Access M2 : Application Model CO-EFF SE T P LLCI ULCI Constant .910 .321 2.832 .006 .266 1.555 Awareness .898 .100 9.014 .000 .698 1.098

Standardized Coefficients CO-EFF Awareness .772

Outcome Variable Application of ICT tools in Agriculture Model Summary R R- SQ MSE F DF 1 DF 2 P

.320 .103 .048 3.084 2.000 54.000 .054 Model CO-EFF SE T P LLCI ULCI Constant 3.237 .297 10.888 .000 2.641 3.833 Awareness -.333 .135 -2.458 .017 -.604 -.061 Access .247 .116 2.124 .038 .014 .481 Standardized Coefficients CO-EFF Awareness -.499 Access .431 Outcome Variable Empowerment

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2201 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 Model Summary R R- SQ MSE F DF 1 DF 2 P .389 .152 .064 3.155 3.000 53.000 .032 Model CO-EFF SE T P LLCI ULCI Constant 2.793 .618 4.517 .000 1.553 4.033 Awareness -.211 .166 -1.270 .209 -.544 .122 Access .038 .141 .269 .789 -.245 .321 Application .324 .158 2.045 .046 .006 .641 Standardized Coefficients Co-eff Awareness -.267 Access .056 Application .273 Total Effect Model Outcome Variable Empowerment Model Summary R R- SQ MSE F DF 1 DF 2 P .269 .072 .068 4.292 1.000 55.000 .043 Model CO-EFF SE T P LLCI ULCI Constant 3.949 .332 11.905 .000 3.284 4.614 Awareness -.213 .103 -2.072 .043 -.419 -.007 Standardized Coefficient CO-EFF Awareness -.269 Total, Direct, and Indirect Effects of X on Y Total effect of X on Y Effect Se T P LLCI ULCI C _ ps C _ cs -.213 .103 -2.072 .043 -.419 -.007 -.794 -.269 Direct effect of X on Y Effect Se T P LLCI ULCI c'_ ps c'_ cs -.211 .166 -1.270 .209 -.544 .122 -.788 -.267 Indirect effect(s) of X on Y: Effect Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI

TOTAL -.002 .144 -.240 .336 Ind 1 .034 .133 -.180 .352 Ind 2 -.108 .069 -.264 .002 Ind 3 .072 .049 -.007 .187 Partially standardised Indirect effect(s) of X on Y: Effect Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI

TOTAL -.007 .546 -.898 1.276 Ind 1 .127 .499 -.666 1.321 Ind 2 -.402 .241 -.925 .011 Ind 3 .268 .177 -.029 .683 Completely standardised Indirect effect(s) of X on Y: Effect Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI

TOTAL -.002 .178 -.339 .383 Ind 1 .043 .161 -.250 .396

Ind 2 -.136 .084 -.321 .004 Ind 3 .091 .060 -.009 .228 Indirect effect key: Ind 1 Awareness -> Access -> Empowerment Ind 2 Awareness -> Application -> Empowerment Ind 3 Awareness -> Access -> Application -> Empowerment ANALYSIS NOTES AND ERRORS Level of confidence for all confidence intervals in output: 95.0000 Number of bootstrap samples for percentile bootstrap confidence intervals: 5000 Table 7 Standardized effect size between variables Path I.D M.D 1 M.D 2 D.V Effect Size Result 1 Awareness Empowerment -.27Ns NS

2 Awareness Access - Empowerment -.04 Ns NS 3 Awareness - Application Empowerment -.14 * NS 4 Awareness Access Application Empowerment 0.09* S *I.D –Independent Variable, M.V – Mediator Variable, D.V – Dependent Variable 1. Ha1 - Awareness of sources of information providers of ICT applications in agriculture empowers women farmers. The alternate hypothesis is rejected 2. Ha2 – Access to the sources of information of ICT applications in agriculture empowers women farmers. The alternate hypothesis is rejected 3. Ha3 – Application of ICT in agriculture without awareness and appropriate access to the sources of information empowers women farmers. The alternate hypothesis is rejected 4. Ha4 – there is a mediation effect of access to the sources of information and application of ICT in agriculture between awareness of sources of information providers and women farmers’ empowerment. The alternate hypothesis is accepted. Awareness of sources of information providers directly will not assure empowerment of women farmers. (Direct Path). ICT usage without appropriate access to the respective sources of information will again not serve the purpose. Awareness of information of the service providers followed by proper access to the sources of information and appropriate application of ICT tools in agriculture will maximum the benefits, and which in turn will empower women farmers. Hence, there is a mediation effect of access to the sources of information and application of ICT in agriculture between awareness of sources of information providers and women farmers’ empowerment. Table No. 8 Obstacles of using ICT Std. Obstacles Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation Illiteracy / Language Problem 3.0 5.0 4.930 .3196 Cultural norms and Traditional Beliefs 2.0 4.0 2.982 .4005 Constrained Socialization 2.0 5.0 2.491 .8045 Fear of Technology 2.0 5.0 4.649 .6679 Expensive Technology / affordability 4.0 5.0 4.684 .4690 Hard to use/ Unfriendly 1.0 5.0 4.404 .9036 Lack of time to spend to access ICT tools 1.0 5.0 2.860 .9717 Fake and Sub-Standard ICT Accessories 1.0 5.0 1.860 .9149 Frequent disruptions in Power Supply 1.0 4.0 1.088 .4343 Unsatisfactory Response 1.0 5.0 2.193 .8544 Ignorant of the Benefits of ICT 1.0 5.0 2.474 1.0540 Lack of operational skills 1.0 5.0 2.070 1.0833 Lack of updated Agriculture Information through ICT 1.0 5.0 2.246 1.1693

Conservatism that ICT is insecure 1.0 5.0 1.404 .9036 Source: Primary data The above table lists out the obstacles of women farmers in using ICT tools in agriculture. Illiteracy/Language problem is the major obstacle among women farmers in ICT adoption with the mean score of 4.930. Affordability to access ICT tools is the next major obstacle among women farmers to enhance ICT applications in agriculture. The respective mean score is 4.684. Next in the ranking of obstacles of ICT application in agriculture is farmers’ fear towards technology adoption. Least score is for ‘Frequent disruptions in Power Supply’. All efforts are required to impart literacy among women to facilitate ICT application in agriculture. Affordability of ICT tools has also to be assured. Suggestions to enhance ICT application in agriculture Use of media and information technology has to be increased to disseminate the knowledge on new agricultural practices and the information on output and input prices to the farmers. Measures are to be taken by the Government to improve the net returns of the farmers by enabling them to realize higher yields at lower cost and to reap the benefits of better market prices. New and innovative techniques of farming are to be extensively promoted along with emphasis on better institutional and organizational support to farmers' welfare. Feasibility of innovativeness and ICT adoptions are brighter among youngsters than the aged. Hence younsters are to be motivated towards agriculture to ensure food security of our nation. Higher the participation of graduates and professionals in agriculture, more will be the ICT applications in agriculture. Hence all efforts are to be taken to encourage them to take active part in agriculture. It is reqiured to create self responsibility among the educated youth to realise their duty towards their nation to save their citizens from hunger and malnutrition. Training the farmers and educating them aptly to change their mindset and reorienting them to take up new activities or to adopt technology is of utmost importance. In this context, it is necessary to involve non-governmental organizations in training and mobilizing the rural poor to face the challenges of ICT application. Technologies are enablers to the pre-existing capabilities of human beings and unless used intelligently and wisely they do not bring any meaningful result. Hence technologies should be viewed as extension of human processes and designed in such a way that it seamlessly fits into people and their activities and acts as a multiplier of their effort. Particularly in case of mobile technology, the mobile network operators play a key role of enabler. Hence any mAgri designer should keep the operators in mind while designing the service or product. If the mobile operator can be convinced of the value add of the application, then, a partnership with the operator can be an incredible asset to help mAgri services to scale up. The trust, resources, and customer franchisee, that the operators have, will help mAgri services significantly improve their product awareness.

Conclusion Women are the first hope for their countries' growth and development in developing countries, especially in rural areas. Meanwhile the status of marginal and small farmers who are on the verge of becoming landless and be pushed out of the villages need immediate attention. Apart from their socio-economic exclusion, they also experience technological exclusion which accentuates their powerlessness. Agrarian distress over the last twenty five years, with greatly reduced income has increased their unaffordability to basic healthcare, food and nutrition. This in turn has driven farmers to insurmountable debt, and has resulted in some 300,000 of them committing suicide in the last 20 years, as reported by the National Crime Records Bureau. Over 16,000 farmers commit suicide every year as of now. On the other hand, unrestrained chemical use in agriculture along with falling ground water levels, has led to soil degradation, environmental pollution, and water scarcity, thus also affecting human health. On the other hand it has also led to ecological crisis in many parts of the country. In this context, application of ICT offers wider possibilities, there by strengthening transfer of technology between research and extension system and further onward transmission to the end users. Information is valuable input through which farmers shall adopt new technologies to make the farming more profitable. There is a vast potential for the smallholder farmers to expand and unite

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 2204 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 12s, (2020), pp. 2190-2206 themselves using innovative ICT tools such as mobile telephony, especially mobile social media. The benefit of technology is that it helps people to virtually connect to each other without displacing them from their place and activities. Access and application of ICT tools is a crucial requirement for sustainable development of the farming community.

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