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Assessment of Mobile-Based Extension Service Usage among Medium- Scale Tea Growers in Kandy District, Sri Lanka

K. G. M. J. W. Gunapala iD, U. I. Dissanayeke, C. E. Munasinghe

Tropical Agricultural Research 33(3): 289–298 · 2022

https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v33i3.8573

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) is one of the major foreign exchange-earning agribusinesses in Sri Lanka, where several mobile-based extension services have emerged to deliver information to tea growers. This study has focused on the present status of mobile-based extension services, perception, and factors affecting the usage of mobile-based extension services by medium-scale tea growers. A survey was conducted over the telephone using a random sample of 56 medium-scale tea growers in the Kandy district. The majority were above 50 years old (77%), and educated up to the advanced level (77%). The majority (59%) were part-time tea growers, having experience (75%) in tea cultivation for ten (10) years or more. All respondents owned mobile phones, and the majority (89%) had smartphone access to the Internet. According to the perception of users, current mobile-based extension services have a problem with knowledge improvement. The results of the Pearson Chi-Square test showed that the awareness of mobile-based extension services was significantly associated with education level χ2 (4, N=56) = 9.951, p

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