DEVELOPMENT OF A MOBILE APPLICATION FOR AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION OFFICERS IN SRI LANKA
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Date
2016
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
The usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the service sector is unfathomable, as several key industries are interlinked and embedded into the system through ICT. Particularly, in the agricultural sector, the application of IT for extension services can be identified as a growing trend and this is successfully achieved through the usage of the mobile platform. In the present context, many tend to communicate with the mobile platform as it is uncomplicated, portable, and has the ability to handle multipurpose tasks. Furthermore, mobile app technology is cost effective in comparison to other devices utilized to access the internet. Thus, this research was carried out with the purpose of developing a mobile application for agriculture extension officers in Sri Lanka and creating a record keeping system for farmers subsequently developing a data base for agriculture instructors which can be updated on a regular basis. The design of the application was based on the development of five categories namely requirement gathering, designing, implementation, testing and review. Required data were obtained through Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka. This programme was developed using the coding systems namely, HTML, CSS, Java Script, HTML, DOM, jQuery, PHP and SQL. "Lak-farmbook" mobile application serves several services such as developing a farmer database, developing a business plan, prediction of production and income of a selected crop, details about required cultural practices of crops and developing essential financial reports. Finally, the study was able to develop a mobile application that can be used to develop a farmer database and record keeping system and can be updated on regular basis and in the trial stage the application was found to be highly satisfying the agricultural instructors due to the user friendliness and knowledge gained through Lak-farmbook, the agro-tech driven service provider at any consumers' fingertip.
Keywords: Agricultural extension, Extension officers, Mobile application
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Export Agriculture Degree Programme (EAG)