Our study focuses on a narrow class of ICT products and services: technologies related to mobile phones, services, and networks; portable devices; web-based portals, tools, and applications; and the data and information shared through these products and services via technologies as varied as interactive voice response (IVR) systems and satellite imagery. We do not consider more traditional ICTs such as radio and television programming. In addition, we focus on a core function of extension services—the promotion of productivity-enhancing agricultural technologies and practices—from which we examine the impacts of ICT-enabled extension on equity outcomes, such as changes in women’s empowerment and decision-making within households; on behavioral outcomes, such as aspiration, risk, and ambiguity preferences; and on learning outcomes, such as awareness, knowledge, and learning externalities.

The articles included in this book focuses on; Digital divide in rural India, e-Agriculture issues, Cyber extension, overview on Village Knowledge Centres VKCs, Community Information Centre iniative in Orissa, SATCOM application in Karnataka State, Model e-Villages in Arunachal Pradesh State of North-East India, Nationwide InDG web portal initiative for rural development, Kisan Mobile Sandesh KMS, Dynamic Market Information DMI by Web and Mobile in Tamil Nadu, Expert systems for pest and diseases diagnosis in rubber, Interactive Multimedia Compact Disc IMCD, Village Information Centres among Dairy Farmers in Tamil Nadu, KISSAN initiative of Kerala State, Mobile Agricultural School and Services MASS in Jharkhand, Farmers Database creation in Darjeeling District of West Bengal, Village Resource Centres VRCs in Uttaranchal, Pest Surveillance of Rice using satellite data, Techmode Approach for Distance Learning Courses for Field Veterinarians in Maharastra, Information Retrieval System for Buffalo Reproduction, Web Portals and Digital Data base in Agroforestry, Watershed Modelling using GIS and Remote Sensing in Gujarat State, e-Readiness and Participation Level of Akshya and KISSAN Kerala Beneficiaries and VRC & CIC Network in Assam and Internet utilization pattern, evaluation of Kissan Call Centres KCCs, ICT adoption level, impact, stakeholders feedback, policy implications and recommendations.

This book is an attempt to document the National Policy on ICTs in agricultural extension, ICT infrastructure scenario and related issues, case studies on innovative ICTs for agricultural extension initiatives (Village knowledge centres, information kiosks, mobile ICT units, web portals, digital data base and networks, rural tele centres, farmer call centres, mobile telephony, video conference, offline multimedia CDs, decision support systems, expert systems, innovative community radio and television programmes, open distance learning etc. The agricultural extension students, academicians, scientists, practitioners, administrators and policy makers will find this compilation of the "ICTs for Agricultural Extension: Global Experiments, Innovations and Experiences" from twenty eight countries relevant to providing a framework for the design and implementation of sustainable ICT-enabled extension services for the agricultural development.

Information and communications technology (ICT) in low- and middle-income countries has changed significantly over the past seven decades, starting with radio and newspapers and transforming almost daily with the rise of smartphones and mobile Internet. While ICT is an integral part of agricultural extension, little is known about how extension has been influenced by these changes in ICT. A systematic review of 133 papers focused on countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa found that changes in ICT have enabled a shift from linear dis semination and “one-way communication” to co-innovation and farmer-to-farmer learning, with the potential for increased democratization of agricultural extension. This note summarizes these findings.

Agricultural Extension is one of the youngest disciplines that focus on enhancing agriculture and rural livelihood through improved information and communication (ICT) processes.The discipline primarily involves conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use ICT in transfer of research output to the end users. Many ICT interventions developed and tested around the world have improvedfarmers livelihood, increased agricultural productivity and income, and reducedfarm risks. Within ICT, Communication is a broad term that needs to be understood very objectively by the scholars and practitioners so that their approach to the whole extension education process could be analytical and one that could draw synergies of technologies, concepts and philosophies which are getting added to already existing knowledge base. In the light of all the above this text book“Communication Technologies in Agriculture”will be a comprehensive book with 24 chapters which covers the old wisdom and also the new horizons in innovations and trends in Agricultural Extension for all those who are associated with Agricultural Extension as a student, scholar, researcher and practitioner.This book would serve to the information needs of all the stake holders in the change process. More fittingly, the Under Graduate students of Agriculture and Horticulture and Post Graduate students of Agricultural Extension, Mass Communication and Rural Development who would use it for enriching their theoretical requirements.

Agriculture can serve as an important engine for economic growth in developing countries, yet yields in these countries have lagged far behind those in developed countries for decades. One potential mechanism for increasing yields is the use of improved agricultural technologies, such as fertilizers, seeds and cropping techniques. Public-sector programs have attempted to overcome information-related barriers to technological adoption by providing agricultural extension services. While such programs have been widely criticized for their limited scale, sustainability and impact, the rapid spread of mobile phone coverage in developing countries provides a unique opportunity to facilitate technological adoption via information and communication technology (ICT)-based extension programs. This article outlines the potential mechanisms through which ICT could facilitate agricultural adoption and the provision of extension services in developing countries. It then reviews existing programs using ICT for agriculture, categorized by the mechanism (voice, text, internet and mobile money transfers) and the type of services provided. Finally, we identify potential constraints to such programs in terms of design and implementation, and conclude with some recommendations for implementing field-based research on the impact of these programs on farmers' knowledge, technological adoption and welfare.