Design and development of a persuasive technology method to encourage smart farming

Information systems on Agriculture can be a boon to any country, but for the farmers of India, particularly Tamilnadu, this can be the one which saves farmer's lives. But the farmers are to be given a big push towards using technology for their needs since the trust factor on technology among farmers is very low. This paper discusses about a persuasive technology method (PTM) developed to change the mindset of the farmers towards technology supported farming. The ICT system developed hass a website component and a mobile app component. The mobile app is linked to the website with details of marketing and farming accessory like dairy, organic products and farm machineries. Based on the requirement, the farmer can learn about the crops, marketing his products and by products or getting support for the field operations. Designing the persuasive technology method was done by choosing the different persuasive methods like promotion gifts, awareness get togethers and targeting the younger generation of the farming families. Effectiveness of the method chosen was tested in real time and metrics were analysed to bring out the best possible PTM.