Agricultural Extension Education is increasingly utilizing internet-supported ICT systems to provide services to farming communities. Institutional websites have become essential sources of information for academic, research, and advisory purposes. These platforms not only display the presence of individuals, research groups, institutions, and departments but also serve to publicize their accomplishments. Furthermore, they facilitate the dissemination of research findings through the publication of summaries, datasets, tools, and web articles. The advantages of maintaining a robust web presence extend beyond academia, impacting research visibility, student recruitment, media interest, and business collaborations. To evaluate the efficiency of institutional websites, a methodology known as Webometrics is used, which involves the study of all network-based communications using informetric or other quantitative measures. In a pluralistic extension scenario, it is critical to analyze and compare the competitive environment among institutional websites. Consequently, this book, based on empirical research, exclusively investigates institutional web presence in terms of content domain, delivery mechanisms, multimodal services, and stakeholder coverage.
This book identifies vital parameters for delivering agricultural advisory services through institutional websites.
Agricultural Extension Education is progressively harnessing internet supported ICT systems to deliver services to farming communities. Institutional websites have evolved into pivotal sources of information for academic, research, and advisory purposes. These platforms not only proclaim the presence of individuals, research groups, institutions, and departments but also serve to publicize their accomplishments. Moreover, they facilitate the distribution of research findings through the publication of summaries, datasets, tools, and web articles. The potential benefits of maintaining a robust web presence extend beyond academia, impacting research visibility, student recruitment, media interest, and business collaborations. To assess the effectiveness of institutional websites, a methodology known as Webometrics is employed, involving the study of all network-based communications using informetric or other quantitative measures. In the context of a pluralistic extension scenario, it is imperative to analyze and compare the competitive ecosystem among institutional websites. Hence, this book, based on empirical research, uniquely explores institutional web presence viz-a-viz, content domain, delivery mechanisms, multimodal services, and stakeholder coverage.
The agriculture sector in India accounts for about 20.2 per cent of its gross value added (GVA) and 17.34 per cent of the total export earnings. It employs approximately 60 per cent of the country’s workforce. It is an unavoidable source for generating demand for industrial goods and services, and domestic savings in rural India are a huge source of resource mobilization in the Indian economy. This sector plays a key role in ensuring national food security and, in the meantime, national security as well. For these reasons, the development of agriculture has a strong multiplier effect on the economy. There is also an increasing consensus that a globalizing economy and a long-term economic development plan for India are practicable only if it has agriculture and raises rural incomes as its central concern. ICT and Information Needs of the Stakeholders Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extension-related term used in information technology (IT) that emphasizes the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications like wireless signals and telephone systems and computers; it is also useful in the software system, middleware, storage, and audio-visual, that enable users to store, transmit, access, manipulate information by understanding the whole process.
A literature review attempts to discover, locate, and synthesize relevant research reports, articles, books, and other resources relating to a study subject. The review can be based on published sources like journal articles, conference papers, research abstracts, chapter books, research institution websites , and so on, as well as unpublished materials like theses and dissertations. By examining the literature, a researcher can take advantage of past research and results made by professionals to get the most out of their research. Examining literature is an important part of every research project since it gives the investigator the information, they need to frame the study on the chosen topic. It directs an investigation on the appropriate path, keeping up with the most recent data. Studies on Broad Areas of Webometrics Webometric studies, ranging from earlier to more contemporary studies, have been recognized and organized under the following headings: • Studies on the Growth and Development of Webometrics • Studies on theoretical studies of content analysis • Studies on Web Content Analysis • Studies on web usage analysis
Websites Information science is an interdisciplinary field that skirts the study of the organization, production, retrieval, storage, retrieval, use of information, and dissemination. Information and Metric studies of storage and recovery are the primary areas of Information Science. Today’s challenges for information personnel are to pave the way through enormous volumes of information brought about by different means. The World Wide Web (WWW ), an information space, is a complex structure that incorporates all types of information that need different users and a layperson to the researcher. It is a system of interlinked hypertext documents approached via the Internet . The web pages can be viewed in a way that contains images, text, videos, and several multimedia through the forms of a web browser and negotiated between them with the help of hyperlinks. It is also a system of multimedia that supports uniquely formatted, using markup languages like HTML or digital documents. These scripting languages support links to other documents, video files, graphics, and audio. The term ‘Webometrics ’ (Bajorneborne & Ingwersen, 2001) was coined for content analysis , search engine performances, quantitative analysis of web related phenomena, links, and web technology analysis from an information science perspective.
India is considered a pioneer in software development and a favourite destination for IT-enabled services. West Bengal is predominantly an agrarian State. Comprising only 2.7% of India’s geographical area, it supports nearly 8% of its population. There are 71.23 lakh farm families, of whom 96% are small and marginal farmers. The average size of land holding is only 0.77 ha. However, the State is bestowed with diverse natural resources and varied agro climatic conditions that support the cultivation of a wide range of crops. The net cropped area is 52.05 lakh ha, comprising 68% of the geographical area and 92% of arable land. The cropping intensity is 184%. However, as the State is in the humid tropic and the Bay of Bengal is close by, it often must face natural vagaries like floods, cyclones, hailstorms, etc. Though the State has a surplus production of rice, vegetables and potatoes, a huge gap exists between the requirement and production of pulses, oilseeds, and maize. The deterioration of soil health due to imbalances in chemical fertilizers, the paucity of suitable improved seed varieties, inadequate farm mechanization, unorganized marketing structure, etc., is a major challenge to agricultural growth.
This chapter deals with an in-depth description of the methods and procedures employed in conducting the research in an organized manner. The research methodology gives the study’s work plan. The research objectives and theoretical base offer an initial framework for identifying the appropriate methodology to answer the research questions. The procedures followed were described under the following headings. 5.1 Research design 5.2 Locale of the study 5.3 Content analysis of websites 5.4 Statistical tools used for the analysis of data. 5.5 Preparation of report
This chapter deals with the research findings of the study together with a relevant discussion of the facts. Results of the study have been presented, and inferences are drawn from them about the specific objectives of the study set forth. Findings of the present investigation on Webometric Content Analysis of Websites of Agriculture and allied sectors in West Bengal and the inferences drawn from them about objectives are presented under the following headings: 6.1 The current web presence of institutions under agricultural and allied sectors in West Bengal . The number of websites under each sector and their URL domain. 6.2 Contents features of the websites , the form of web contents used, information domain and language used in websites. 6.3 Thematic areas intended audience (internal and external users), and the media presence of the websites . 6.1 Current Web Presence of Institutions Under Agricultural and Allied Sectors in West Bengal An attempt was made to explore the web presence of the institutions related to agricultural and allied sectors viz-a-viz website domain and URL in West Bengal . The variables like the number of websites , their URL address, and domain use status under different institutions were presented in this section.
The quality and effectiveness of extension services are critical to the agricultural sector’s long-term viability and output. Farmers have been getting agricultural information from extension workers via interpersonal communication for many years. Still, the number of extension employees has been declining while the number of farming families has increased. As a result, the country’s current extension service needs to improve in reaching out to farmers with timely and relevant agricultural information. ICTs are considered a partial answer to quickly getting information to the growing number of farming households because relevant and timely information is vital in agriculture. Farmers may receive up-to-date knowledge and information on agricultural technologies, best practices, markets, price patterns, and customer preferences through its use. Since farmers in many parts of India, including West Bengal , are becoming more mobile and internet savvy, disseminating useful real-time information about crops, soils, climate, cultivation practices, financing, produce storage, and marketing to farming communities is more important and challenging. Many concerted efforts from the government, non-government organizations, and industry are now required to make our farmers ICT -friendly so that the benefits of rapidly evolving technological advancements in farm production, storage, and marketing can be shared equally among all communities and sectors of farming.
A student investigator confronted time constraints, such as course credit pressure, and resource constraints, such as physical, budgetary, and managerial constraints, in the current investigation. However, every effort and consideration made the study as objective and scientific as feasible. Despite the researcher’s best efforts, the study depends on the respondents’ opinions, which may or may not be devoid of their perceptions and biases. As a result, it is a modest piece of labour that may be completed over a more extended period. Suggestions for Future Research • The findings of the present study warrant the need for further investigations in several directions. The following suggestions are made for further research in the following areas. • The study was confined to one state; therefore, the results cannot be generalised to the whole country. Similar analyses can be taken up in other states to generalise the results.
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