Abstract
It has been argued that the use of ICTs can provide disadvantaged communities with access to information and thereby enable them to enhance their quality of life. This paper attempts to analyze the use of the ICTs from the perspective of the target beneficiaries (i.e. farmers). It reports on the results of an action research intervention in Bangladesh. The first phase of the fieldwork was designed to identify agricultural information needs. An intervention enabled farmers’ groups to have access to the services offered by two telecentres in Bangladesh through mobile telephony technology. Evidence from interviews, focus group discussions, diary notes and personal observation suggests that the telecentre projects had limited impacts in terms of meeting some crucial agricultural information needs. Mobile telephony, computers and internet connectivity have the potential to deliver the information. However, the information content and the applications need to be developed through a bottom up approach in order to achieve the objectives of meeting the information needs of farmers.
Recommended Citation
Dey, Bidit Lal; Prendergast, Renee; and Newman, David, "How can ICTs be used and appropriated to address agricultural information needs of Bangladeshi farmers?" (2008). GlobDev 2008. 21.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/globdev2008/21