Exploring farmers' psychological perspectives on multimedia-based agro-advisory services

Agro-advisory through multimedia plays a crucial role for improving farmers' access to information and serves as a ready reckoner for the stakeholders to make better and informed decisions. Although there is existing research on multimedia-based agro-advisory services (MAS), there remains a significant gap in understanding the psychological factors that affect their usage behaviour (UB), especially among agricultural stakeholders. This demands further investigation through region-specific studies to comprehensively address this gap and devise target-based interventions for their uptake. The current study developed a conceptual model by adapting a well-established framework of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to elucidate the psychological elements that impact agricultural stakeholders' MAS usage behaviour. The developed model included constructs such as effort expectancy (EE), self-efficacy (SE), credibility (CR), risk perception (RP), and perceived benefit (PB), which was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis followed by the covariance-based Survey Weighted Structural Equation Modeling (SWSEM) approach from the responses of 225 farmers from Indo-Gangetic plains of India. The findings suggested that EE, SE, and CR of the sources of MAS are the significant determinants of the perceived benefits of MAS with Comparative Fit Index = 0.942, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.933, and RMSE of Approximation = 0.063 and SRMR = 0.069 and perceived benefit is positively associated with usage behaviour of MAS. The outcomes contribute to the literature on MAS and offer valuable insights for the researchers, policymakers, academicians, and extension advisory service providers.