Abstract:
Agricultural extension services crucially enhance agricultural productivity and
food security. Traditional extension systems constantly face serious drawbacks:
inadequate communication between farmers and extension officers, limited extension
staff capacity, and the slow delivery of timely information. These constraints
are particularly evident in Ampara, a leading paddy-producing region in
Sri Lanka. This study explored the potential of introducing a WhatsApp-based
e-extension service system as an innovative, low-cost, and interactive communication
tool. Primary data were collected through a pretested structured questionnaire
from a sample of 150 paddy farmers in the Akkaraipattu East, Akkaraipattu
West, and Sammanthurai agrarian service areas. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory
factor analysis, and a Smart PLS structural model were adopted to assess
relationships between key variables: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness,
attitude toward use, and behavioral intention. Findings showed that existing eextension
platforms (Govi Nena, Govi Mithuru, and Krushi Advisor) face several
challenges: ineffective communication (mean = 4.50, p = 0.001), lack of tailored
solutions (mean = 3.79, p = 0.004), and information gaps (mean = 3.75, p =
0.003). Strong relationships were observed among perceived ease of use, perceived
usefulness, and behavioral intention (path coefficients β = 0.83 and 0.91), suggesting
that farmers find WhatsApp more accessible than existing e-sources, and
ease of use becomes more effective for obtaining timely information in a trusted
way (attitude toward using WhatsApp, β = 0.89). The study concludes that a
WhatsApp-based extension system could significantly improve the accessibility of
relevant agricultural information in a timely manner, which can strengthen realtime
communication, deliver personalized guidance, and make extension services
more accessible. This study offers meaningful insights for policymakers and extension
agencies to modernize their approaches by embracing simple, farmer-friendly
digital tools to boost agricultural productivity.
