Impact of mobile advisory and face-to-face communication in capability building among Indian farmers

This paper analyzed the impact of mobile advisory and face-to-face communication in capability building of farmers in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. These farmers accessed agricultural training and information services through Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK). KVKs had been established in different parts of the country to enhance agricultural productivity and to promote rural wellbeing. Gigler’s Alternative Evaluation Framework that operationalized Sen’s Capabilities Approach was adapted on evaluating the indicators of economic wellbeing and quality of life of the farmers. Farmers’ perception of effective communication tool for information transfer and the actual usage of communication mediums that had catered to the capability building were analyzed. Although the results showed that face-to-face communication was mostly used by KVK and Short Message Service (SMS) was limited, the combined impact of both media catered for capability building enhancing their productivity for economic wellbeing and quality of life.   Key words: Capabilities approach, face-to-face communication, mobile advisory, farmers’ development, Krishi Vigyan Kendra.