Development of a mobile app for enhancing the performance of smallholder native chicken management and production
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Abstract
The purposes of this paper are: 1) to study farmers’ demographic information, farm characteristics, and mobile phone usage patterns; 2) to develop a mobile app that can comprehensively address the needs of native chicken farmers through dissemination of proper information; and 3) to collect and analyze completed satisfaction surveys by Thai native chicken (TNC) mobile app users. Data was collected from 50 farmers through the use of semi-structured interviews and statistically analyzed using measurements of frequency, percentage, and mean. Most of the farmers were male (84%), with an average age of about 52±9.40 years and with only a primary school education (40%). Most raised native chickens as a secondary career (92%) and had 5 years or less of farming experience (46%). Meanwhile, 34.06% raised chickens mainly for home consumption, 56% had medium-sized farms, and 90% reared in semi-intensive systems. Responses indicated that Android operating systems are more commonly in use than iPhone Operating System (iOS) (96% vs. 4%, respectively). The TNC mobile app is an Android-based app that serves as a tool for native chicken farmers in Thailand to improve their rearing methods and productivity. The key features of the app include information or guidance about Thai native chicken breeds, farm management, feed and feeding, and disease control. The users’ completed satisfaction surveys, from a total of 48 respondents, demonstrated that the overall satisfaction score was 4.15, signifying native chicken farmers’ satisfaction with the TNC mobile app in terms of functionality, aesthetics, and information quality.
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References
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