10 pages, via online journal, Model farmers are a common feature of many developing world agricultural extension networks within which they demonstrate new cultivation techniques and technologies to local communities. The diverse political-economic and socio-cultural roles that such farmers assume, however, are rarely afforded critical scrutiny. To do so, we emphasise the ways in which model farmers facilitate not only the production and transfer of knowledge but also of materials and legitimacy. These transfers occur both horizontally to community members and vertically through linkages with extension agents, research institutions and private sector interests. We establish how these transfers have important impacts upon both efficiency and equity. To illustrate, we use examples of model farmers drawn from research on hybrid rice dissemination in Mandya district, Karnataka. Despite having the same official functions within the extension network, the model farmers we surveyed assumed strongly different roles with notable implications for the effectiveness of knowledge transfer alongside equity considerations.
Moyo, Rachel (author), Salawu, Abiodun (author), and Department of Communication, North West University, Private Bag X2046, Mafikeng, 2735, South Africa
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-02
Published:
South Africa: Elsevier
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 151 Document Number: D10129
7 pages., Via online journal., This study is a quantitative survey of communication media preferred by smallholder farmers resettled under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in the Gweru district of Zimbabwe. Data were gathered using a questionnaire and simple random sampling. Communication is integral to agricultural development, particularly so in the context of the FTLRP characterized by a dearth of information, education and training, ensued by the discriminatory command agriculture (Murisa and Chikweche, 2015). Farmers' preferences of communicationmedia in receiving agricultural innovations should be prioritised to improve agricultural communication andsubsequently, productivity, which is dire in Zimbabwe in the light of the continuing food insecurity. Thefindingsindicated that farmers prefer media that are stimulating and engaging such as television and demonstrations;convenient such as mobile phones and detailed such as books probably because the majority of them do not have training in agriculture. Demographic variables of age-group and education were found to be associated with communication preferences of some media. The study has implications for agricultural communication media policy. Beyond prioritization of farmers’preferences, a model of a multi-media approach to agricultural communication has been developed, that could widen communication reach if implemented.
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.
10 pages., Via online journal., Consumption of local food is a fast-growing trend supported by local food advocates and governments. This trend has also captured the interest of researchers. The present study draws from the foundational principles of the theoretical perspective of helping behaviour with a view to enhancing the understanding of why people buy local food. This article tests a conceptual framework with proposed relationships between helping behaviour constructs and local food-buying behaviour within a Norwegian context. Local food consumers in Troms County are surveyed, and the results indicate that empathic concern and social concern influence their attitude towards, and preference for, local food. Local patriotism influences the preference for local food even if such consumers evaluate it as being of lower quality and less desirable than other food products. This study is among the first to examine local food-buying behaviour through the lens of prosocial helping behaviour theory. The recommendations for local food producers and local food advocates regarding appealing to consumers’ prosocial helping behaviour propose communication strategies emphasizing the difficulties that local food producers face, portraying local food producers as people deserving of help against national competition and imports, and depicting them as being as loyal to the local community as the local food consumers are.
11 pages., Via online article, A “digital revolution” in agriculture is underway. Advanced technologies like sensors, artificial intelligence, and robotics are increasingly being promoted as a means to increase food production efficiency while minimizing resource use. In the process, agricultural digitalization raises critical social questions about the implications for diverse agricultural labourers and rural spaces as digitalization evolves. In this paper, we use literature and field data to outline some key trends being observed at the nexus of agricultural production, technology, and labour in North America, with a particular focus on the Canadian context. Using the data, we highlight three key tensions observed: rising land costs and automation; the development of a high-skill/low-skilled bifurcated labour market; and issues around the control of digital data. With these tensions in mind, we use a social justice lens to consider the potential implications of digital agricultural technologies for farm labour and rural communities, which directs our attention to racial exploitation in agricultural labour specifically. In exploring these tensions, we argue that policy and research must further examine how to shift the trajectory of digitalization in ways that support food production as well as marginalized agricultural labourers, while pointing to key areas for future research—which is lacking to date. We emphasize that the current enthusiasm for digital agriculture should not blind us to the specific ways that new technologies intensify exploitation and deepen both labour and spatial marginalization.
7 pages., Via online journal, The emergence of Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) has drawn the attention of researchers from various fields, who try to understand and explain these new phenomena. The purpose of this paper is to explore how personal attitude and product quality perception influence relative satisfaction over participation in AFNs, therefore contributing to the literature on socially conscious consumerism. Structural Equation Modeling is used to investigate the determinants of consumers' attitudes towards AFNs, its influence on perceived quality of food products, and their relative influence over satisfaction with participation in AFNs. A survey was conducted among 210 AFN participants. The results from this study suggest that consumers' attitude towards AFNs directly influences the perceived quality of food products; moreover, the analysis confirms the relationship between these two elements and overall satisfaction with participation in AFNs. Finally, the research provides suggestions on how to improve consumers’ involvement and mainstream AFNs.
Landini, Fernando (author) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (National Council of Scientific and Technological Research), Argentina
University of La Cuenca del Plata, Argentina
University of Moron, Argentina
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2015-04-15
Published:
Argentina: Elsevier
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D10882
9 pages, online journal article, Quality rural extension is of utmost importance for generating food security and sustainable rural development. In this paper, Argentine rural extensionists' point of view on how to be a good practitioner is described, as well as compared to good practices proposed by scholars and international development organizations. Forty rural extensionists from the Northeastern Argentine provinces were interviewed (29men, 11 women). Interviews were recorded and transcribed, texts were categorized and contents analyzed. Scholars and extensionists, despite agreeing to most of the same principles, frame their recommendations for good extension practices in different ways. The former's recommendations tend to be supported by multiple case studies and focused on best practices on the level of extension projects or policies, while the latter's tend to draw upon their own experience and develop proposals more concerned with interpersonal interactions and with overcoming practical problems in real (and not ideal)settings. Best extension practices depend on environmental, institutional, political and cultural contexts, this implying there is no best extension practice in general. Training extensionists in interpersonal skills and in social sciences is key for reaching good extension results. Horizontal communication between farmers and extensionists, negotiation over best technologies, and helping farmers reflect on their production practices are extension strategies with great potential.
Landini, Fernando (author), Bianqui, Vanina (author), Vargas, Gilda (author), Inés Mathot y Rebolé, María (author), Martinez, Manuela (author), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina National Council of Scientific and Technological Research, Argentina
University of La Cuenca del Plata, Argentina
University of Morón, Argentina
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2017-10-07
Published:
Argentina: Science Direct
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 106 Document Number: D10934
12 pages, via online journal, Working with farmers' groups, associations and cooperatives constitutes a fundamental element of extension work with family farmers. Despite the fact that extension practitioners face many problems in this area of their work, there is currently a lack of academic literature that systematically addresses the topic and offers concrete guidelines for practice. Thus, this paper will aim to clarify the benefits of farmers' groups, associations and networks within the context of family farming, systematise problems faced by rural extensionists when working with farmers' groups and associations, provide conceptual tools for understanding group and associative processes, and construct a set of guidelines and recommendations for facing said problems. In order to achieve these aims, the authors conducted an extensive literature review and drew upon their personal experience on the topic.
Results suggest that some of the benefits of associative work are: better access to inputs, produce and credit markets, the facilitation of learning processes, the empowerment of family farmers as social actors, and a reduction of rural extension costs. Additionally, with respects to the problems faced by extensionists, the following can be highlighted: individualist attitudes and conflicts between farmers, scarce participation and commitment, problems with leaderships and with organisations' administrative management, and the lack of extensionists' training to address these processes, among others. With regards to the factors that increase trust and cooperation are: interpersonal communication and mutual knowledge, sharing problems, values and objectives, and the existence of shared rules for the functioning of the group that include sanctions for transgressors. In this context, the extensionists' role will be that of facilitating processes of construction of group relationships, creating rules for the groups' functioning and developing the group's capacities for self-management.
7 pages., via online journal article, The complexities of Melanesian customary land tenure greatly influence the adoption of community-based reforestation (CBR) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). CBR has recently become a focus for the PNG government due to declining yield from native forests which has renewed attention on developing timber plantations to augment villagers' livelihoods. In this paper, we investigate the factors which affect adoption of timber tree-growing by farmers and communities. We assess the efficacy of a policy frequently employed by non-government organisations (NGOs) in which single or multi-clan based seedling nurseries are used to encourage tree growing. A key finding is that people's need for technical assistance is subordinate to social and cultural factors, principally the need for community harmony. Farmers' motivation to plant trees is adversely influenced by uncertainties inherent in PNG's system of customary land tenure. Interventions – in this case extension assistance to grow trees – may create or exacerbate intra- and inter-clan conflict by bringing long term uncertainties into short term focus. For villagers in PNG, as in other cultures, we conclude that key enabling conditions for collective action revolve around strengthening villagers' bridging social capital in a manner which is sensitive to their longstanding social traditions. Targeted, do-it-yourself, family assistance may be as effective as attempts to encourage collective action. The implications of our findings for Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) which envisages a participatory approach to community engagement, are that cross-community initiatives may not be feasible without extensive investment in building social capital. Initiatives targeted at families or family-groups may be most successful.
Montgomery, Stephanie C. (author), Martin, Robert J. (author), Guppy, Chris (author), Wright, Graeme C. (author), Tighe, Matthew K. (author), and Agronomy and Soil Science, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2017-11
Published:
Australia: Science Direct
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 106 Document Number: D10937
9 pages, via online journal, Upland farming in Northwest Cambodia has developed rapidly over the last 20 years, with limitations to the plough based system now apparent, including soil degradation and reductions in yield and profitability. A survey was conducted in order to prioritise the main constraints to production, to aid in future research planning, and to identify potential beneficial modifications to the current system. Three hundred and ninety one farmers were interviewed regarding their current farming system constraints, knowledge of conservation agriculture and their future plans in the Districts of Samlout in Battambang Province and Sala Krau in Pailin Province. Perceived major problems in the farming system were extreme climate events such as droughts and heavy rain, declining crop yields, and cash flow shortages, particularly in the pre-monsoon period. This is a plough based farming system, yet 66% of farmers had heard of conservation agriculture, and 59% wanted to learn more about conservation agriculture practices. Two thirds of farmers were interested in how to grow crops in the post-monsoon dry season on residual soil moisture. The survey highlighted opportunities for farmer education and adoption of farming system modifications to improve productivity and sustainability of the farming system in Northwest Cambodia, and assist with climate change adaptation.
