3 pages., Online from publisher website., Following a training course in technology stewardship, actors in the Caribbean's agri-food sector are implementing ICT approaches to provide agricultural advice and support to their local communities
Online via UI Library electronic subscription., Authors used the Positive Deviance approach to identify the effective communication practices of rural women entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh, India, who succeed against overwhelming odds. A variety of participatory processes and liberating structures - improv theater, personal storytelling, discovery and action dialogues, and card-sorting games - were used to identify the highly uncommon practices of these entrepreneurs.
9 pages, In agricultural research for development adoption of new technology tends to be cast in categories: adoption, partial adoption, dis-adoption or non-adoption. While these may serve for pragmatic classification and measures for project success or impact they fail to properly acknowledge the ongoing and independent efforts of farmers (and others) in experimentation and integration of knowledge across a range of sources. This paper explores responses to practices for cattle management introduced during a research project, at project close, and five years after the project has finished. We consider the perceptions and application of new knowledge by farmers, extension staff, and policy makers. By taking a longer-term view, we demonstrate how farming households adapt and integrate knowledge from different sources into their daily practice, influenced by local institutions and changing cultural expectations, as well as external researchers. We also consider the influence of changing government priorities and incentives in steering farm-management decisions. Results suggest that a focus on measures to build capacity and empower farmers with information to adapt and respond to change, regardless of project activities, is a much more important goal and indicator of impact than measuring adoption.
11 pages, Extension is well-positioned to facilitate communication strategies that foster community resilience and disaster recovery, particularly for rural residents. This paper proposes a new approach to post-disaster communication that strengthens rural community capacities in locally and culturally relevant ways. The findings revealed specific post-disaster information needs, preferences for local resources, and communication that encourages resilience through a document analysis and interviews with informants recovering from the 2020 Colorado wildfires. The practical recommendations discussed serve as a starting point for Extension professionals in other areas to consider ways to engage with their communities before, during, and after a disaster.
3 pages, 11 pages, This paper examines the usefulness of the new social movements (NSMs) paradigm in the changing context of East European post-communist societies and their agricultural systems and rural communities. Starting with statements formulated in Western sociology in the context of Western democratic societies about NSMs as a protest against modernity, the paper analyses the role of such movements in the still modernizing Eastern European reality. The first part of the paper briefly examines some basic elements of the NSMs paradigm in European and American social science. The goal of this section is not only to identify the basic characteristics of NSMs, but also to identify the typical frames used by them. The second part of the paper focuses on the presence of NSMs in the communist era. Drawing on the idea of NSMs as indicators of a "post-materialist shift" as well as of "anti-establishment" and "pro-participatory democracy", the paper examines the frames of democratic opposition in Eastern Europe before 1989. The final part of the paper considers several selected examples from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to explore the role of NSMs in the process of shaping new ruralities during the post-communist transformation.
7 pages., Article # 2RIB2, Via online journal., To assess small rural retailers' use of social media and the role of social media in their business sustainability, we conducted focus group interviews with small business owners/managers from rural communities in a midwestern state. Participants revealed strong interest in social media, especially for use in sales and marketing. However, their engagement in social media was limited due to lack of knowledge and resources (i.e., time, human resources, financial resources, effectiveness measurement) related to developing and updating content. On the basis of these findings, we examine implications for Extension professionals and outreach educators regarding social media needs and programming for small rural businesses.
7 pages, To assess small rural retailers' use of social media and the role of social media in their business sustainability, we conducted focus group interviews with small business owners/managers from rural communities in a midwestern state. Participants revealed strong interest in social media, especially for use in sales and marketing. However, their engagement in social media was limited due to lack of knowledge and resources (i.e., time, human resources, financial resources, effectiveness measurement) related to developing and updating content. On the basis of these findings, we examine implications for Extension professionals and outreach educators regarding social media needs and programming for small rural businesses.
8 pages., via online journal., Social media provides huge opportunities and incentives that could ease promotion of agricultural extension, facilitate real-time service delivery and enable wider farmer coverage. Ineffective dissemination approaches, expanding farmer population, low staffing, and aging agricultural extension agents continue to negatively affect the provision of agricultural extension services in Kenya. Despite the social media potential in agricultural communication, lack of awareness and low usage in the rural areas of developing countries have been documented. This study sought to establish the level of social media familiarity among smallholder rural farmers with the aim of exploring the possibility of usage in agricultural extension. The study was undertaken in Thika Sub-County of Kiambu County on 140 farmers through a researcher administered semi-structured questionnaire. Probability-proportional-to-size sampling method was employed to derive the sample size from existing extension farmer groups. Simple random sampling technique was further used to identify the actual respondents from each group. A low level of social media familiarity was established among the farmers with education, age and gender having significant influence. The study recommends awareness creation initiatives to promote social media familiarity with a particular focus on women who form the bulk of the farmers but with the lowest level of social media knowledge.
12 pages., Via online journal., This article is concerned with the shaping of agricultural knowledge among farmers, in the context of the rapid changes Polish agriculture has been subject to since the time of the country's EU accession. The theoretical underpinnings of this work have been described in terms of the significant notional categories, i.e. knowledge, knowledge-cultures and sources of knowledge. The research made use of the joint interviews method. Interviews were run with representatives of different generations in 10 farming families in central Poland. The main research objective was to determine sources of farming knowledge among farmers. The use of joint interviews allowed for the identification of sources of knowledge of different kinds. These reflect a division into farmers' closer and more distant surroundings, i.e. to the family and neighbours on the one hand, and to institutions and media on the other. Knowledge acquisition among farmers is in fact found to be a complex process, reflecting socialisation in a multi-generation environment of family and neighbours, on the one hand, and the impact of the institutional and legal system, on the other. In a general sense, this corresponds to the well-known division of sources of knowledge into the tacit and the explicit, with the acquisition of tacit (i.e. informal) knowledge not meeting with any more major obstacles thanks to proximity in a sense that may be cultural (i.e. the agriculture itself), family-related (and in fact multi-generation) and spatial (physical proximity in a given locality). Microsocial conditioning thus plays a major role in the shaping of this source of knowledge. However, the most important factor distinguishing contemporary cultures as regards knowledge on farming is the capacity to adapt to conditions set by the institutions supporting the latter's development. Formal knowledge flowing into farming families from their institutional surroundings requires growing adaptability and preparation if a succession of innovations are to be taken on board. The multi-source nature of knowledge and the achievement of some kind of balance in this respect actually poses a major challenge for the future functioning of family farms as cultural microsystems.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11768
Notes:
Report from Agri-Pulse received online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 6 pages., Report of a letter to Capitol Hill and the White House from a new American Connection Project Broadband Coalition calling for a "robust federal investment in broadband internet connectivity." Letter (attached) signed by 40 ag, tech, and healthcare groups.
16 pages, Promoting healthier diets is strategic to solve the global societal challenge of excessive and unhealthy calorie intake that causes obesity and overweight and is responsible for chronic diseases that burden healthcare systems. The relationship between food and personal health is well established and in recent years it has originated a number of dietary recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) focused on encouraging healthier diets. The environmental impact of food intake and of particular diets is a growing research area. However, neither research
nor public policies, in particular, have been able so far to establish a link between promoting healthier diets and their impact on enhancing environmentally healthier farming systems and the sustainability of rural landscapes. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a multidisciplinary literature review which combines evidence from nutrition and health sciences with that from environmental, agrarian and sustainability studies on the impacts of foods and dietary patterns on the environment, ecosystems and rural landscape. This integrate d review,
complemented with data analysis, highlights the Mediterranean diet as a healthier dietary pattern whose promotion could be beneficial to recover or maintain the sustainability of Mediterranean rural landscape. Hence, the second part of the paper focus on discussing the role of public policies in enabling the link between enhancing healthier diets and healthier farming systems in order to sustain rural landscapes since these play a key role in the sustainability of Mediterranean rural areas.
3pgs, Oil and gas wells left unattended pose an environmental danger and weigh heavily on tax payers’ pockets. The federal accountability system overseeing the companies involved needs a complete overhaul.
Shors, Benjamin (author) and Jones, Lisa Waananen (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
USA: Journalism and Media Production Department, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11227
Notes:
Via online. 10 pages., "In the context of post-secondary journalism education, we investigated whether community guidance and involvement can improve 'parachute' journalism to create meaningful coverage in rural areas." Findings offered strong evidence of benefits for student learning, as well as interest from regional news organizations in greater collaboration with student journalists and need for a complete and ongoing assessment of information needs of rural communities in the region during a time of rapidly changing technology and loss of local news resources.
Landini, Fernando (author), Beramendi, Maite (author), and University of La Cuenca del Plata
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
School of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-07-24
Published:
Argentina: Taylor and Francis
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 101 Document Number: D10880
18 pages, online journal article, Purpose
This article aims at designing and validating a psychometric scale to assess extensionists’ and advisors’ beliefs about extension and innovation.
Design/Methodology/approach
The scale was developed by drawing upon results from a previous empirical research as well as insights from a literature review on extension and innovation approaches. The theoretical framework used to write the items was validated by 12 international experts from 11 countries. 608 Argentine extension workers completed the questionnaire. Replies were analysed using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.
Findings
The scale has a good fit and satisfactory level of internal consistency. Five factors were identified: Dialogue and horizontal coordination; Transfer of technology; Blame on farmers; Participatory, farmer-led extension; and Self-critical attitude.
Practical implications
The scale has multiple and different uses, including research, theory development, institutional practice, diagnosis, and teaching.
Theoretical implications
Results show that a horizontal, facilitative extension approach shares a common epistemology, as well as underlying values and assumptions, with territorial development and with an innovation systems perspective, and that both contrast with a traditional transfer of technology approach. Nonetheless, practitioners would not tend to see these two contrasting perspectives as contradictory but as complementary.
Originality/Value
The scale is the first validated psychometric instrument, based on an ample theoretical framework, that allows for a quantitative assessment of beliefs about extension and innovation.
Cantrell, R. (author), Donohue, George A. (author), Johnson, A. (author), Krile, J. (author), and University of Minnesota}University of Minnesota}University of Minnesota}University of Minnesota
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
unknown
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 46 Document Number: B05658
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 149 Document Number: D06693
Notes:
Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. and the Social Sciences Institute, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro. 7 pages., Describes a customizable curriculum (nine training modules), video and self-scoring evaluation instrument for use in workshops.
16 pages., via online journal., Case study examined the efforts of a rural hyperlocal outlet to adapt community traditions as engagement interventions by reimagining "society columns" as community contributors -- and using "liars tables" as listening circles. Findings show promising signs by making the processes of journalism more participatory, allowing residents to represent and share their own stories and cover a wider range of stories that are not exclusively negative. The "liars table" concept "has a steeper road ahead."
12 pages., Article #: 5FEA1, via online journal., Extension engaged rural Idaho community stakeholders to assess local resources and readiness to address obesogenic contexts through use of the Extension tool HEAL MAPPS. Through participatory photomapping, focus group involvement, and a community readiness conversation, residents identified environmental resources and local efforts as supports for and barriers to healthful eating and active living. Findings indicated that the community was "vaguely aware" that rural obesity risk is a socioenvironmentally determined issue. Extension professionals using HEAL MAPPS effectively promoted new and shared knowledge of weight health resources among community members, enabled rural residents to have a voice in addressing the community context, and empowered community actions.
21 pages, Climate change continues to impact the livelihoods of smallholder farmers due to low adaptive capacity. In South Africa, the challenge is exacerbated by water scarcity and shortened crop-growing seasons. Climate-smart irrigation innovative technologies (CSIT) enhance smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change. However, there is still a limited level of effective adoption and usage of these technologies in smallholder communities. This study investigated the barriers affecting the adoption of CSIT in rural areas of the Vhembe and Capricorn districts in Limpopo Province, South Africa. We explored the farmers’ socioeconomic factors extracted from farmers’ perceptions of CSIT-specific attributes. A multi-stage randomized sampling technique was used to select 100 smallholder farmers (SHF). Data analyzed by descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution are presented in graphs and tables. According to the findings, insufficient communication channels, a lack of financial availability, unstable land tenure systems, and insufficient training are the main obstacles to implementing CSIT. There is a need for policy and decision-makers to improve the communication channels for disseminating agro-meteorological information to the intended beneficiaries.
27 pages, Agricultural extension has shifted towards community-centric, farmer-centered, and participatory approaches that enhance rural change through a social learning lens, resulting in the emergence of the farmer-to-farmer extension model. The purpose of the study was to understand lead farmer selection criteria within the farmer-to-farmer model and their impacts on community social learning. We applied Torraco’s (2005) integrative literature review method to guide our discussion around lead farmer selection processes, types of lead farmers selected and their impacts on social learning. The study indicated farmer-to-farmer extension model has the potential of re-invigorating the provision of agriculture extension services owing to its low cost, reliability, and the potential to be sustainable. However, farmer-to-farmer faces numerous challenges such as a lack of funding, limited community adoption, and acceptance of the system. This study’s findings suggest the farmer-to-farmer approach can be more effective when stakeholders, especially the community is actively involved in designing, implementing, and evaluating the model. The study recommends that practitioners work closely with the community to develop long-term relationships based on trust through intentionality and inviting attitude that respects and values community knowledge.
18 pages, This study examined gaps in climate information within public agricultural extension in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It assessed extension officers’ climate change perceptions, knowledge and climate education. Lastly, the study examined the extension approaches for overall suitability of climate information disseminated to rural smallholder farmers. The results indicated that participants were predominately male, with tertiary education. Education levels had an influence on exposure to climate education and extension approaches in disseminating agricultural information to farmers. There is a need to retool extension officers in climate change extension work, integrating indigenous knowledge to increase suitability and acceptability of information by smallholder farmers.
32 pages., via online journal., Following the March 2017 wildfire devastation in Texas, Oklahoma, and
Kansas, local chapters of the National FFA Organization actively engaged
on social media to advocate for public response to the crisis. Twenty-three
public Facebook posts from FFA chapters and affiliates demonstrate members’
engagement with agricultural issues in the United States, disrupting the
generalization that young adults are disconnected from civic affairs.
However, while Facebook served as an important platform for members’
ag-vocacy in the wake of the crisis, FFA chapter posts contain embedded
traditional rural literacies, which are reflected in members’ collective
identification with existing supporters of agricultural communities. While
FFA chapters had the potential to advocate to a broad readership, the
posts reveal the chapters’ way of reading the crisis and writing a response
to it with an insular narrative. As a result, Facebook posts that target
only limited audiences and/or appeal to readers with exclusionary collective
identification result in the failure of entities, such as local FFA chapters,
to capitalize on Facebook’s full potential as an advocacy tool to inform and
engage large public audiences.
12 pages., via online journal., This study explored the factors influencing the application of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) among farmers in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
The Punjab province is divided into three agro-ecological zones viz Northern, Central and
Southern. In this study, one district from each zone was randomly selected. Total sample
size comprises of 150 farmers. Farmers were interviewed using a self-administered
interview schedule comprising of open and close-ended questions. Respondents’ access to
ICTs was low level. Chi-square test revealed a significant association between the age of
respondents and adoption of ICTs. Young respondents were leading users of ICTs in the
study area. Size of landholding and income level of the respondents had a significant
association with the frequency of use of ICTs in agriculture. Among various ICTs tools,
mobile/cell phone attracted 47.3% of respondents to access agricultural information. Factors
militating use of ICTs include; electricity/power issues (x̄=2.95/3.00), language barriers
(x̄=2.93/3.00), limited knowledge and skills about ICTs (x̄=2.89/3.00), high cost
(x̄=2.87/3.00) and limited availability of ICTs (x̄=2.85/3.00). Extent of ICTs use to access
agricultural information can surge with t
20 pages., China, Information needs, access, rural communities, small farms, information channels, surveys, development, Information plays an important role in meeting the quantitative and qualitative goals of agriculture in the 21st century. As an emerging economy in a developing continent, China has already made many interventions to use information technology to support agricultural development. However, information service in some rural areas is still severely limited. The overall impact of the changing information environment on the farmers’ information needs and access channels has not been fully studied. Thus, this study systematically investigates the characteristics of the information needs and channels of farmers in Guangdong, China. We have collected 4006 questionnaire samples and used correlation analysis to explore the relationships between farmers’ information needs and access channel preferences. The results indicate that individual characteristic factors, social factors and family factors have different degrees of influence on farmers’ information needs and access channel preferences. These findings can provide a reference for information construction in the rural areas of Guangdong Province and thus promote its economic development. This study can also provide useful insights for policy-makers and researchers from other developing countries to formulate implementation plans to promote agricultural development.
12 pages., The primary purpose of the present study is to explore the level of information literacy among the farmers with regards to agriculture at the Jind district of Haryana state in India. Survey method with accidental sampling is used, and data were collected from a total number of 52 farmers who lived in the two selected villages by using a self-structured questionnaire. The demographic profile shows male dominancy on agriculture, and the majority of the farmers found literate. Their primary source of income is agriculture (86.54%), and 84.62% of them own the land of fewer than four acres. Rice, wheat, sorghum, cotton, and pearl millet are main crops that the farmers grow in their fields. Agriculture, education, and health are the main areas on which all the farmers need information, and TV & newspapers are found as the primary sources of acquiring the required information. The low price of crop production (M=4.87), lack of electricity in rural areas (M=4.85), and low level of literacy (M=4.73) are significant problems the farmers faced in information searching. However, there is a need to make the farmers aware of the public library and their importance and use, and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and their utility.
15 pages, via online journal, Purpose: The effectiveness of new extension approaches hinges on farmers’ willingness to adopt innovative ways to interact with extension. Therefore, this study explored farmers’ willingness to use mobile text messaging for two-way interactions with Ministry Extension officers.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study followed a correlational design and survey data were conveniently collected from 200 farmers of Trinidad.
Findings: Findings showed most farmers of the sample knew how to send and receive text messages, and many owned Internet-enabled smartphones. In addition, most farmers were willing to communicate with extension officers through text messages.
Practical Implications: Ministry Extension should revisit and revise their policies of communicating with farmers. Administrators should encourage extension officers to use SMS to respond to farmers’ requests and information needs.
Theoretical Implications: While the UTAUT provided an appropriate framework for understanding farmers’ use of text messaging, researchers should tailor the moderator variables to the country’s context.
Originality/Value: This study is the first to look at farmers’ willingness to use two-way information communication technologies in Trinidad. Results showed there is potential for Ministry Extension to use text messaging to communicate with farmers.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11769
Notes:
Online from BroadbandNow, a registered trademark of Centerfield BBN LLC. 3 pages., Whereas the FCC reports that broadband is unavailable to 21.3 million Americans, BroadbandNow Research analyzed FCC Form 477 data and estimated that 42 million Americans do not have the ability to purchase broadband internet. This is an additional 6.5 percent of Americans beyond FCC estimates.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D11984
Journal Title Details:
Weekly Edition
Notes:
20 Pgs., Named essential workers, the country’s small farmers, ranchers and farmworkers are coping with the pandemic without a corporate safety net, persevering through shutdowns, slowdowns and supply-chain meltdowns.
14 pages., Online via Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)., Authors tested label effectiveness involving "supermarket shoppers on a rural American Indian reservation." Results showed added value and willingness to pay through tailoring the label to the local community.
12 pages, Canning and home demonstration clubs played an important role in improving agriculture and home life shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Organized in local communities, these clubs for young girls and their mothers provided the opportunity for females to engage in experiential learning through the growth and canning of vegetables. Club work and activities allowed the involved individuals to learn important home life concepts including incorporating more nutritious meals, record keeping, maintaining the family garden, and other duties surrounding the home. In addition, clubs promoted cooperation among various groups, fostered friendships, and provided entrepreneurial opportunities for farm women. Movements such as these increased the demand for agricultural and extension education and many of the strategies developed through these clubs can be implemented in both formal and non-formal education today.
19 pages., Information is an important factor in agricultural development. The study investigated farmers’ agricultural information needs and seeking behavior in the Southern Regional State of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional research design was employed and the study population included all household heads of the eight sampled villages in four administrative zones. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to obtain a sample of 320 farmers. Quantitative data were collected and research adopted descriptive statistics. The results revealed information on crop production technologies; information about diseases, pests and weather forecasts, and market information were identified as the top three most important types of agricultural information. Similarly, crop production technologies; animal husbandry technologies, and information about agricultural inputs were the information farmers seek frequently. Farmers use development agents as the first source of agricultural information. All of the respondents communicate with development agents face-to-face.
27 pages., The study on the information-seeking behavior of the agricultural community was undertaken in the attabira area of bargarh district of Odisha with objectives to study the different areas in which they require information frequently and determine the sources through which they rely on. It was found that most of the people are dependent upon agriculture in the attabira area. They started working at the age of 18. Most of the farmers (85.6%) of farmers opted for pooja seeds for cultivation. The study shows 7.36% of the respondents are facing difficulties in irrigation facilities. About 78.9% of the people are talking about MSP (Minimum support price). About 7.3% of farmers gathered information from social media, TV, Call centers, etc. It is observed that the highest numbers of people are talking from a nationalized bank. The farmers were getting information from various sources like TV media, print media, etc. The library plays a crucial role in the dissemination of knowledge. The farmer knowledge center was established where they could get their query solved. The knowledge centers need to provide the right information at the right time in a personal way. The result reveals that a large number of people of the attabira district are influenced by socio-economic variables.
15 pages., This study discusses about information needs and information-seeking behavior of farmers in Cengkong Village, Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. The purposes of this study are to identify information needs and information-seeking behavior of farmers in Cengkong Village. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study method. The results show that the farmers in Cengkong Village able to identify and to express their information needs regarding to their activity. There are two kind of information needs: agricultural and non agricultural information needs. The result also shows that there are four type of information-seeking behaviors of farmers, including passive attention, passive search, active search, and ongoing search.
Online via https://doaj.org, Article deals with the role of information and communication technologies and the related infrastructure to induce innovations for sustainable rural development." Authors examined the role of social innovation to create a new demand for products, services, and organizational models for farm and rural enterprises.
18 pages., via online journal., Findings in rural communities prompt authors to recommend a customized policy framework that is responsive to the diversity and uniqueness of local contexts in connectivity and digital inclusion.
Online via UI subscription. 10 pages., How libraries are teaming up with journalists to promote media literacy, spur civic engagement, and even take on reporting projects
Curtiss, Brook D. (author), Hale-Spencer, Melissa (author), Hueston, Brett (author), Whitney, Jonathan (author), Harnack, Roger (author), McLaughlin, Kaylie (author), Lozinski, Peter (author), Hedlund, Patric (author), Meyer, Eric (author), Wagner, Ellen (author), Nash, Noel (author), White, Mark (author), Ranson, Steve (author), Meier, Jill (author), Sawvell, Derek (author), Keck, Randy (author), Murray, Ian (author), McCarthy, James (author), and Valpy, Bruce (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
USA: International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11786
Online via UI electronic subscription., Brief case examples of how community newspapers adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of suspended activities in their communities.
Freireich, Elliott (author), Fogler, Jim (author), Waltner, Jeremy (author), McLaughlin, Kaylie (author), Wagner, Ellen (author), Nash, Noel (author), van Zyl, Anton (author), Finklea, Betsy (author), Manko, Janet (author), Meyer, Eric (author), Bellune, Jerry (author), Martin, Brad (author), Sieve-Hicks Jen (author), Klomp, Marcie (author), Meier, Jill (author), and Whitney, Jonathan (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11787
Online via UI electronic subscription, Comments, ideas and concerns expressed by a selection of community newspaper publishers and editors about their adjustments in the face of economic and business impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
6 pages., via website,Ryerson Review of Journalism., Between the hours of about 4 p.m. to midnight, Ashleigh Weeden goes dark. Not for the usual reasons, though. In Weeden’s southwestern Ontario town, the internet connection becomes—for all practical purposes—nonexistent during those hours. The PhD student at the University of Guelph lives in Ariss, Ontario, a “dispersed rural community” sandwiched between urban centres like Guelph and Kitchener. Despite paying about $250 monthly for internet access, she finds herself shut out of the internet. “…[S]ometimes [internet speed] goes one, maybe half a megabyte down,” she says. “I can’t grade, I can’t do anything, there’s no point, I might as well give up until about midnight.”
29 pages., The use of mobile phones among stakeholders in Ghana in communication agricultural-related information is gaining ground. The findings show that farmers in the Ho West District of Ghana are beginning to adhere to the dictates of technology to enhance information delivery for their farming activities. The study shows factors such as level of education, income levels have a direct correlation to the use of the technology. Despite these, it is still the case that mobile penetration into agricultural communication is receiving attention from farmers.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12077
Notes:
Online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 2 pages., Summary of findings from a poll conducted recently by the American Farm Bureau Federation. "The results of a new poll clearly demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic is having broad-ranging impacts among rural adults and farmers/farmworkers." Findings also identified main obstacles to seeking help or treatment for mental health condition, the most trusted sources for information about mental health, impressions of the importance of mental health in rural communities and the importance of reducing stigma surrounding mental health.
6 pages., via online journal., History and value of newsreels as information sources for theater goers, including those in rural areas. Author identifies the Moving Image Research Collections located at the University of South Carolina. They were contributed by 20th Century Fox in the early 1980s.
16 pages, Agricultural extension is one of the essential services that are offered by the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development (DALRRD), to facilitate agricultural development in rural communities. The significance of agricultural extension is that it offers new knowledge to farmers and allows space for growth through various interventions such as agrarian transformation and improving livelihoods through the promotion of agriculture as a vehicle for ‘pro-poor’ economic growth. However, there is a concern that extension services are invisible in resource-restricted and previously marginalised rural communities. The study presented in this paper examined farmer’s experiences with extension practitioners and the impact of a lack of extension services on the development of impoverished rural communities. The researchers adopted a qualitative design wherein six focus group discussions were held to gather data from the farmers. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti22, a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). Four themes of extension services that have a direct linkage to livelihood development, namely, the impact on rural livelihoods, production challenges, marketability, and economic impact, and the invisibility of extension services, were the central point of discussion.
10 pages., Via online journal., In 18 East German municipalities, nine of them with a planned pig production site and the other nine with an existing pig production site, a survey was carried out on the factors influencing the acceptance of pig production. The influencing factors examined were the personal attitude on particular aspects of pig production, socio-demographic characteristics, the personal involvement in local decision-making, the size of livestock and the production technology. As a result, existing production sites are perceived more positively than planned sites, without any influence of size and production technology. The difference may be explained by the fact that planned sites are evaluated in respect to economic arguments as jobs and income (market goods), while existing sites are rather evaluated in respect to environmental factors (public goods). For new investments the results lead to the recommendation to emphasize its economic aspects, to integrate the investor socially in the rural community and to apply technology that prevents pollution for the neighborhood. More importantly, the results show the shortcomings of a “top down” approach and the indispensability of endogenous resources in regional development.
20 pages, The main goal of this article is to assess the conditions under which market-oriented and formally organised organic farming might become a factor for local development. The main question is: to what degree is the impact of this factor (organic farming) due to local policies and the quality of local governance? Based on research carried out in 2013 and in 2016 in various parts of Poland, the authors demonstrate when and under what conditions and circumstances organic farming may improve farmers’ social and economic conditions as well as the overall development of areas with a significant organic agricultural sector (proportionally to the local scale). The preliminary findings underline that local authorities in rural areas are an institution that can significantly contribute to the maintenance and development of organic farming in Poland.
18 pages., The economic challenges in Nigeria make it to suffer from food insecurity which is due to low agricultural production and productivity. Specific initiatives by the Federal Government on pro-poor rural agricultural food growth to achieve SDGs to end hunger have been established. Similar structures have also been established in all the 36 States of the Federation and, in some cases, at Local Government Area level. The government is also with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and a wide array of stakeholders. Use of pro-poor rural agricultural food growth through rural public library services to achieve the goal 1 and goal 2 targets of SDGs (end poverty and hunger) is particularly the focus of this study. This paper submits that public libraries have a great role to play in the implementation of SDGs by using emerging technology, collaborating on capacity building and going into partnership with critical stakeholders to make information available to poor rural farmers. Hence, materials from the key partners of the government on information about production forecasts, increased agricultural productivity, soil composition, markets for different crops, dairy and poultry farming, farm mechanics, land use, preservation of soil, rainfall and cultivation of different types of crops, effective extension service delivery and feedback on situation for improved research and policy implementation on agriculture should be acquired by public libraries, organized, preserved and made available to rural poor to facilitate pro-poor rural agricultural food growth for the attainment of SDGs in Nigeria.
4 pages., Author suggests that"social forestry seeks to manage forests through local communities for their own plus national benefits, but is still falls short of the targets set. Reconciling local concerns for livelihood opportunities with the need for accountability requires intermediaries who successfully negotiate in the bureaucratic jungle of forestry as an institution."
2 pages., Summary of results from a survey among British citizens inviting attitudes toward food and farming. First such research effort by the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists.
6pgs, Valerie Horn works with several community action groups in Whitesburg, Kentucky. The state’s recent flooding has made these organizations even more vital to the community.
