Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Digital Farm Field School Extension Approach for Technology Dissemination for Tea Smallholdings in Kandy District in Sri Lanka

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_20How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Adoption; Effectiveness; Digital Farmer Field School; ICT literacy; Tea smallholders

Abstract

The tea smallholding sector occupies a pivotal position within the tea industry in Sri Lanka; however, it faces numerous challenges, viz technological deficiencies, a shortage of skilled labour, limited access to inputs, low productivity, and high production costs. To address these issues, the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach was piloted by the Tea Small Holding Development Authority, evolving into the Digital Farmer Field School (DFFS) platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the DFFS in increasing farmers’ adoption of agricultural practices, productivity, and income. Using a stratified sampling technique, 50 smallholders who participated in DFFS and 50 non-participants were selected from five Grama Niladhari Divisions in Kandy district. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a pretested instrument, ensuring reliability (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.8224). Descriptive analysis, hypothesis testing, correlation and multiple regression were employed to explore relationships. Results indicated significant differences between DFFS and non-participants (NDFFS) at P < 0.05 in ICT literacy, knowledge and practice adoption, land productivity, and average income. The multiple regression model was fitted successfully (P < 0.05), showing that 92% of the variance in DFFS effectiveness was explained by ten independent variables such as organizational assistance, facilitation conditions, effort expectancy, income, age, and gender. However, family workforce, education, and ICT affordability did not demonstrate significant relationships. The study concludes that DFFS effectively enhances agricultural knowledge and practices among smallholders, highlighting the need for policymakers to implement DFFS approaches for technology transfer and engage various farmer groups and stakeholders in Sri Lanka.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - M. K. S. L. D. Amarathunga
AU  - C. Jayasundara
AU  - P. Mahindarathne
AU  - D. Mahagama
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/15
TI  - Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Digital Farm Field School Extension Approach for Technology Dissemination for Tea Smallholdings in Kandy District in Sri Lanka
BT  - Proceedings of the International Tea Symposium (InTSym100 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 352
EP  - 373
SN  - 2468-5747
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_20
ID  - Amarathunga2026
ER  -