Factors Influencing the Use of and Attitude of Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Agricultural Extension, A Study in the Isfahan Province of Iran

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly influencing human beings and are changing our attitudes towards these technologies. The purpose of this article is to understand the factors influencing the use of ICTs in agricultural extension through a descriptive research method. The populations were 320 individuals of agricultural Extension Workers (EWs) of Isfahan province that 200 people selected as a research sample. The reliability of self-completion questionnaire according to pilot test and calculating Cronbach's alpha for four part of the instrument was 82.6-87.8. The results revealed that the EWs have a positive attitude toward using ICT. They mostly viewed it as a useful tool for extension, which can potentially save money and time and extension. On the ranking of principal areas of applying ICTs by EWs “typing letters/report", “prepare and protect file on process basic agricultural and rural information", had most usage. The main result of the study revealed that the EWs approximately use ICT quite a bit. Also, the EWs with high school diploma degree used ICT less than the EWs with MSc degree and the EWs with 5 years and less experience had higher ICT application than the EWs with 15-16 year experience.