Farmers have widely used mobile-based information service systems to address challenges they face and keep up with the latest developments in the sector. The study of Wijerathna et al. (2020) provides another perspective on how Twitter, a mainstream online microblogging platform, can serve as a Short Message Service (SMS) system for rural communities in the case of Ipalogama Vidatha Resource Centre in Sri Lanka.

Its findings saw that the Twitter-based SMS system is an efficient platform for agricultural extension and experts to forward relevant agricultural information to the farmers, such as vegetable prices, job vacancies, training opportunities, and subsidy programs to name a few. They just have to rely on the technology steward who would input the agricultural information to Twitter written in their local language, directly sending it to the farmers who subscribe to their system.

The system got a positive review from its subscribers, who said they see it as applicable and are willing for its further utilization. However, the project is currently facing challenges regarding the lack of a mechanism to retrieve the information in the resource center and financial and administrative support to sustain the service.

To know more about its evaluation, you can access the article here.

Source:

Wijerathna, R. M. S., Dissanayake, U., Navaratne, S., & Gunawardena, D. (2020). Evaluation of a Mobile SMS based Twitter Information Service for Rural communities: A Case study of Ipologama Vidatha Resource Center, Sri Lanka. Journal of the Community Development in Asia (JCDA), 3(3), 19-28.

Sri Lanka [Photo]. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/asiapacific/perspectives/agricultural-statistics/global-strategy/results-in-the-region/sri-lanka/es/

Written by: Mark Vincent R. Mercene