Conceptualising the Scale to Quantify E-Readiness of Farmers: Sri Lankan View

Abstract

E-agriculture is vital for supporting the development in agricultural sector. Before developing any e-agriculture technology, it is essential to measure e-readiness as it will be an indicator to foresee the application of the developed technology. This has necessitated the concept of e-readiness. The literature has not yet adequately assessed the farmers’ e-readiness level due to a lack of contextually appropriate assessment tools. This study aims to identify factors that contribute to measure e-readiness of farmers in Sri Lanka and constructing and standardising a scale that can be used to quantitatively score e-readiness across each of these factors. The study utilized the criteria 8Cs developed by Rao and embraced a structured literature review approach to identify measurement items to 8Cs. To finalise the statements, the study used mean value and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The analysis of the literature demonstrates that most of the indicators of e-readiness related to technology infrastructure, human skills, people and accessibility and connectivity. However, the challenge is to construct a comprehensive model that would incorporate all the major driving forces of an economy that would directly effect on the improvement of e-agriculture. We proposed 89 independent measures across eight factors. This paper provides a first attempt to conceptualise the scale to quantify the e-readiness of farmers in Sri Lanka utilizing the criteria 8Cs. The proposed assessment framework would rectify the areas excluded by the existing e-readiness tools and provide a more inclusive foundation for measuring and monitoring e-readiness in agricultural community. The study will be useful to know farmers’ preparedness and ability to use technological devices. The e-readiness measurement will be utilized to evaluate the farming community’s readiness to engage in e-activities such as e-commerce, e-learning and e-government.