Bridging the Gap: A Study of Constraints in ICT Tool Deployment for Fisheries Extension in Manipur

The study was conducted during 2023 to study the knowledge level of the respondents on ICT tools; to assess the extent of utilization of ICT tools by the respondents; and to identify the constraints faced by the respondents in using ICT tools. The present study was conducted in the four districts of Manipur which were purposively selected based on the concentration of a higher number of fisheries extension professionals available. The selected districts were Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, and Thoubal. Data were collected from the extension professionals from the Department of Fisheries, Govt. of Manipur using a semi-structured interview schedule. The study revealed that the majority of respondents belonged to the young age category (60%) followed by middle-aged (35%). The study revealed that the majority of the respondents (75%) had a medium level of knowledge on the usage of ICT tools. A considerable number of respondents were graduates (55%) and only a small proportion of them had post-graduate degrees (18%). The study also revealed that the majority (73.33%) of them were also found to have a medium level of ICT utilization. A few of the major problems faced by respondents were unavailability of Wi-Fi services, power instability, unavailability of UPS/Generator, and faulty internet connectivity, which were some of the top-ranked constraints. Extension professionals, therefore need to expand their usage of ICT tools to explore and seek more farm-related information. The department should provide appropriate training plans for each level of fisheries extension professionals in accordance with their job requirements, and ongoing refresher training should also be organized to keep the experts up to date on the most recent developments in the ICT media farm information communication. The state Department of Fisheries should take up some strategies to improve and rectify the challenges faced by the fisheries extension professionals in the department so that the extension professionals get to deliver their service without any problems.