S18 - Session P2 - Outlook of the agricultural extension mobile application - Abu Dhabi case study

Authors: khawla Al Marzooqi *, Mohamed Alhammadi

The repercussions, the rapid global changes, and the huge volume of renewable agricultural data and information require the presence of more rapid and effective tools in communicating with farmers. In addition to the requirements of farmers in terms of accuracy of information and the speed of providing correct extension information. Digital communication tools are very useful tool in agricultural extension. It is not just a tool for reaching a large audience; but also, an opportunity to develop relationships with farmers. In fact, virtual meetings were common long before the pandemic including web presence and engaging social media platforms. Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority implemented the agriculture extension through a mobile application, in which a consultancy, technical information, and trainings were provided via online meetings using Microsoft Teams Program. The mobile application includes more than 125 topics in agriculture and machine learning to identify pests and plant diseases automatically. In coronavirus peridermic like situation, when the physical interactions became extremely restricted, the E-Extension played a key role in disseminating valuable technical information. A survey was carried out in randomly selected farmers in Abu Dhabi to measure the most important requirement that farmers wish to obtain, the best way to provide these services and farmers satisfaction after applying the E-Extension. In late 2021, a survey was carried out in randomly selected farmers in Abu Dhabi to measure the most important technical requirement that farmers wish to obtain, the best way to provide these services, and farmers satisfaction after applying the E-Extension. The results showed that providing the agriculture extension using mobile application, compared to the old typical extension, showed increased of farmers satisfaction level of 85% within three years and increased the percentage of farmers engagement dramatically by 148.5%. In addition, using the mobile application lowered the cost by 86%.