How do chat apps support the use of farming videos in agricultural extension: A case study from Bihar, India

Abstract

Farmers and extension workers increasingly use chat apps like WhatsApp to access and share information, including farming videos. Few empirical studies have critically examined the roles of these novel extension practices in agricultural innovation systems. We asked 294 extension workers in Bihar, eastern India, to circulate three wheat agronomy videos. Extension workers relied on WhatsApp to share these videos in 70% of surveyed cases (n = 131). Follow-up interviews revealed that WhatsApp enabled highly efficient video sharing with farmers extension workers already knew, given that WhatsApp was embedded like “breakfast tea” in some communities in rural Bihar. However, interviewed extension workers expressed concern that WhatsApp-shared videos facilitated limited social inclusivity, limited two-way discussion, and thereby limited localisation of farming advice, feedback loops, and relationship building, at least in this context. Looking further, we anticipate these challenges with person-to-person chat apps in agricultural extension may also apply to emerging agricultural advisory chatbots powered by large language models. For researchers, our results imply that socio-technical theories, rather than transfer-of-technology theories, are required to anticipate and observe heterogeneous uses and impacts of digital extension tools. For practitioners, our results imply that chat apps can helpfully support, not replace, face-to-face extension practices. In the words of one interviewed extension worker, treat chat apps like “chutney”: a helpful complement and inadequate substitute for “rice and dal” conversations and field demonstrations.