How to Attract Sri Lankan Youth for Agriculture by Using Information Technology

Abstract

Agriculture is fundamental to the development of every country in the 21st century, and each developed and developing countries invest in it. However, in a developing country like Sri Lanka, fewer people be a part of the industry and attract limited investment. At the same time, the contribution of the youth community is very low. Youth participation in agriculture is very important to make a sustainable contribution to national development. Many young people access information from the internet. Therefore, the internet was the best platform for young people to market and promote agriculture. Also, new technology and software applications must be used to attract young people to agriculture. This research seeks to identify the reasons for the declining contribution of the youth community to agriculture and to provide IT-based solutions to these difficulties. The survey was conducted in consultation with farmers in the Bulathsinhala area and by obtaining data from them. It was also important to consider their family background. Data was also collected from 100 youths in the selected area and most of whom were between the ages of 15 and 33. The main reason for selecting the Bulathsinhala area for this research was due to the largely rural area and the large number of people involved in agriculture as well as paddy and Chen’s plantations and the ability to obtain data from farmers and their children in such an area and to know their problems. The prevailing underestimation in the society of the youth towards agriculture, Lack of proper guidance to focus on agriculture, Lack of suitable media for obtaining agricultural information, do not have land suitable for agriculture, Difficulty finding a suitable market to sell the harvest, are several factors that contribute to the decline in youth participation in agriculture after the observation. To increase the attractiveness of the youth as well as for the convenience of the farmers and the convenience of all those engaged in agriculture, the solution provided by this research is to implement a mobile application that contains features on Facebook and YouTube.