Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 12 Document Number: D10405
Notes:
4 pages., Online from Australian Broadcasting Corporation website., During a severe drought, a Queensland grazier decided to share her story on a social media post that included distressing images of livestock. Unintended consequences included accusations of animal abuse and investigation by Biosecurity Queensland.
Wallach, Lori (author), Maybardukl, Peter (author), Hansen-Kuhn, Karen (author), and Jackson, Janine (author)
Format:
Interview
Publication Date:
2016-07-30
Published:
USA: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, New York City, New York
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 30 Document Number: D10567
Notes:
13 pages., via website, FAIR., CounterSpin interviews with Lori Wallach, Peter Maybarduk and Karen Hansen-Kuhn on trade pacts and corporate globalization
International: Autogrow Systems Limited and Agritecture LLC
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12004
Notes:
Online in issue of The Packer. 27 pages., This is the second Census to be conducted and ran from July 8 to September 4, 2020. It was promoted through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, industry partners and various online media and industry channels. The 371 respondents were from 58 countries with the largest percentage from the United States, India and the United Kingdom. Respondents were growers and small to large businesses. Twenty percent founded their business in 2020.
Australia: Rural Press Limited, North Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D06387
Notes:
The pictorial world of rural Australia. "This book is about the sights of rural Australia: it presents a chronicle of what goes on from the start to end of a typical day beyond the boundaries of the cities where most Australians now live."
Butler, James R.A. (author), Darbas, Toni (author), Addison, Jane (author), Bohensky, Erin L. (author), Carter, Lucy (author), Cosijn, Michaela (author), Maru, Yiheyis T. (author), Stone-Jovicich, Samantha (author), Williams, Liana J. (author), and Rodriguez, Luis C. (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
International: CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Victoria, Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10513
Notes:
217 pages., Pages 109-129 in Heinz Schandl and Lain Walker (eds.), Social science and sustainability. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Victoria,Australia. 2017. 217 pages.
Mungai, Ndungi wa (author) and Seis, Colin (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2017
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08789
Notes:
Pages 223-237 in Gordon, Iain J. Prins, Herbert H.T. Squire, Geoff R. (eds.), Food production and nature conservation: conflicts and solutions. United Kingdom: Routledge, London. 348 pages.
International: Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11396
Notes:
10 pages., Via online from website., "Experts say the rise of artifical intelligence will make most people better off over the next decade, but many have concerns about how advances in AI will affect what it means to be human, to be productive and to exercise free will. Includes references to impacts on farmers, farming and climate.
7 pages, This study was carried out to determine the fish farming practices, development and constraints among fish farmers in Ibi Local Government Area (LGA), Taraba State, Nigeria. A sampling frame was drawn from the list of 740 fish farmers registered with the Department of Fisheries and Forestry, Ibi LGA, Taraba State. A multistage stratified design was used for selecting the respondents for the study. The first stage involved stratification of the Local Government into Districts (Sarkin Kudu, Dampar and Ibi). The second stage was selection based on the prevalence of fish farmers in the districts. The third stage involved random selection of 90, 69 and 63 (30%) fish farmers from each district to obtain a sample size of 222 respondents. Data from the study were collected through structured questionnaire and scheduled interview administered to the respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive (frequency distribution and percentages) and inferential (non parametric test at coefficient of 0.116 and p-value of < 0.05) statistics. Results show that concrete tanks were mostly used by fish farmers (35.0%) and sourced fingerlings for stocking through personal hatchery (34.9%), practiced poly culture (58.90%) and monoculture techniques (56.50%). The culture system was predominantly intensive (90.0%), Clarias spp were cultured (68.9%) and fed on imported floating feed (72.0%). The major constraints to fish production are inadequate infrastructure, high cost of inputs, poor quality of fish seed and poor extension services on fish farming. The study recommends that the Government should grant import duty waiver on fish farming inputs and monitor the implementation so that the policy can benefit intending and existing fish farmers. Efforts should be intensified on different areas of fish farming development.
13 pages, An increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the German organic agri-food sector involves citizens through different community financing models. While such models provide alternative funding sources as well as marketing opportunities to SMEs, they allow private investors to combine their financial and ethical concerns by directly supporting the development of a more sustainable food system. Due to the low level of financial intermediation, community financing is characterized by close relations between investors and investees. Against this background, we apply the proximity concept from economic geography to explore spatial and relational aspects of community financing in the German organic agri-food sector. Based on a qualitative multiple case study approach, we find that the relevance of proximity is twofold. While different forms of proximity between SMEs and their potential investors are key success factors, proximity is also considered as one desired outcome of community financing. Furthermore, our results reveal that the extent to which SMEs rely on particular proximity dimensions distinguishes two different approaches to community financing.
Cooke, Andrew (author), Mullan, Siobhan (author), Morten, Charlie (author), Hockenhull, Joanna (author), Le-Grice, Phil (author), Le Cocq, Kate (author), Lee, Michael R. F. (author), Cardenas, Laura M. (author), and Rivero, M. Jordana (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2023-06-29
Published:
United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12951
14 pages, Animal welfare encompasses all aspects of an animal’s life and the interactions between animals. Consequently, welfare must be measured across a variety of factors that consider aspects
such as health, behaviour and mental state. Decisions regarding housing and grazing are central to farm management. In this study, two beef cattle systems and their herds were compared
from weaning to slaughter across numerous indicators. One herd (‘HH’) were continuously
housed, the other (‘HG’) were housed only during winter. Inspections of animals were conducted to assess body condition, cleanliness, diarrhoea, hairlessness, nasal discharge and ocular discharge. Hair and nasal mucus samples were taken for quantification of cortisol and
serotonin. Qualitative behaviour assessments (QBA) were also conducted and performance
monitored. Physical health indicators were similar between herds with the exception of
nasal discharge which was more prevalent in HH (P < 0.001). During winter, QBA yielded differences between herds over PC1 (arousal) (P = 0.032), but not PC2 (mood) (P = 0.139).
Through summer, there was a strong difference across both PC1 (P < 0.001) and PC2 (P =
0.002), with HG exhibiting more positive behaviour. A difference was found in hair cortisol
levels, with the greatest concentrations observed in HG (P = 0.011), however such a pattern
was not seen for nasal mucus cortisol or for serotonin. Overall, providing summer grazing
(HG) appeared to afford welfare benefits to the cattle as shown with more positive QBA
assessments, but also slightly better health indicators, notwithstanding the higher levels of cortisol in that group.
10 pages, This research endeavor, conducted in year 2019-20, explores farmers’ perception regarding
climate change and the impacts of socioeconomic indicators affecting these perceptions in
district Mardan, KP-Pakistan. For this purpose, total of 140 sampled respondents, seventy
from each village were selected for primary data collection. Ordered probit model was used to
quantify the determinants of climate change perception. Demographic characteristics revealed
that average age of the respondents was 44.42 years, with average schooling, household size,
farming experience and farm size of 7.73 years, about 9.96 members, 27.90 years and 3.1
acres, respectively. The study findings indicated that age, education, household size, farming
experience, total income and nature of land significantly (p < 0.05) affect farmers’ perception
of climate change specifying that younger farmers perceive climate change impacts more as
compared to older farmers, while experienced were more likely to perceive than inexperienced.
Educated farmers perceived changes in climate more than less educated or uneducated. Small
holders perceived more than big landlords, rain-fed farm holders perceived more than irrigated
farm holders, high income farmers perceived more than low income farmers, owners perceived
more than owner-cum tenants and tenants and small families perceived more than big families.
The study recommended climate change awareness programs through government and nongovernment organizations, i.e. education programs, farmer field schools (FFS), agricultural
extension agencies to bridge the farmer- research gap, government role in realistic land reforms,
establishment of farm services centers (FSCs), climate information centers and diversify farm
income opportunities.
Journal paper no. 12951 of the Univ. of Nebraska, Agricultural Research Division, Although greater diversity in the agricultural landscape is an important goal, the decisions of individual farmers determine the diversity of crops used in each farming system. Cutforth et al developed and tested an integrated socioeconomic model of farmers' decisions on crop rotations as an indicator of overall crop diversity.
12 pages, We use the 2013 cotton precision farming survey data to study the adoption of irrigation technologies by cotton farmers in 14 states of the United States. We find that farmers with a higher irrigated yield, and who are from the Southern Plains (Texas and Oklahoma), adopt water-efficient irrigation technologies, such as sub-surface drip and trickle irrigation technologies. There are 10 irrigation technologies that farmers can adopt for cotton production in these 14 cotton-growing states. The intensity of the irrigation technologies, as measured by the number of irrigation technologies adopted in cotton production, is affected by the irrigated cotton yield realized, land holding (total land owned), education, computer use, and the origin of the cotton farmer being from the Southern Plains. We use a multivariate fractional regression model to identify land allocation by the different irrigation technologies used. Our results indicate that significant variables affecting land allocation with different irrigation technologies are the age of the operator, the cover crop, the information sources used, the per acre irrigated yield, the education, and the cotton farmer being from the Southern Plains.
21 pages, Multiple dynamics jointly determine who we befriend, however, researchers have failed to systematically assess which processes matter most under different circumstances. Here I draw on observations around how the demands of paddy rice cultivation shape social interaction to demonstrate that the relative importance of reciprocity, transitivity and generalised exchange to who rice producers choose as friends varies with the amount of agricultural land under their control. In doing so, I use unique data on farm size and friendship amongst 4713 rice-growing smallholders in 162 rural villages in Jiangxi, China along with a new technique for measuring the relative importance of effects in Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models. In line with the micro-level component of the recently advanced “theory of network ecology”, results suggest that features of an individual’s proximal environment can powerfully moderate the relative expression of network-formation mechanisms such that for some individuals, a dynamic may be expected to hold substantial sway over the process of choosing social contacts and, for others, no sway at all.
Huth, Neil I. (author), Cocks, Brett (author), Dalgliesh, Neal (author), Poulton, Perry L. (author), Marinoni, Oswald (author), and Navarro Garcia, Javier (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2018-03
Published:
Australia: Springer
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 6 Document Number: D10211
Article first online 13 June 2017, Via online journal., The Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction industry is developing rapidly within the Surat Basin in southern Queensland, Australia, with licenses already approved for tenements covering more than 24,000 km2. Much of this land is used for a broad range of agricultural purposes and the need for coexistence between the farm and gas industries has been the source of much conflict. Whilst much research has been undertaken into the environmental and economic impacts of CSG, little research has looked into the issues of coexistence between farmers and the CSG industry in the shared space that is a farm business, a home and a resource extraction network. We conducted three workshops with farmers from across a broad region undergoing CSG development to explore farmers’ perceptions of some of the issues arising from large scale land use change. Workshops explored the importance of place identity and landscape aesthetics for farmers, farmers’ acceptance and coping with change, and possible benefits from off-farm income. We found that farmers believed that place identity was not well understood by CSG staff from non-rural backgrounds and that farmers struggled to explain some concerns because of the different way they interpreted their landscape. Furthermore, high staff turnover, and the extensive use of contractors also impacted on communications. These factors were the cause of much frustration and farmers felt that this has led to severe impacts on mental health and wellbeing. Farmers felt that a change in culture within the CSG companies will be required if engagement with farmers is to improve and that efforts to employ local people in these communications was helping this. The workshops also identified a range of issues perceived by farmers arising from increased traffic volumes, impacts to mental health and wellbeing, place identity and loss of water resources for farmers. Finally, it was suggested that scientists and agricultural industry groups will need to work closely with farmers to develop understanding of these emerging issues and to develop solutions that are timely and relevant.
Aldosari, Fahad (author), Al Shunaifi, Mohamed Saleh (author), Ullah, Muhammad Amjad (author), Muddassir, Muhammad (author), and Noor, Mehmood Ali (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-04
Published:
Saudi Arabia: Science Direct
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 8 Document Number: D10318
7 pages., Via online journal., Like many developing countries, agriculture is seen as the vehicle for development also in Pakistan. Our study was aimed to identify the perceptions of farmer community towards the electronic media and relationship between different demographic characteristics of respondents with the use of electronic communication of TV and radio, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), a province of Pakistan. Random sampling technique was used for selecting 183 respondents. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi-square. Results revealed that maximum respondents were agreed that mobile and internet can be a useful source of agricultural information and only 1.6 and 5.5% of the respondents were strongly disagreed about information means, respectively. A maximum number of the respondents were undecided about “agricultural helpline can be a useful source of agricultural information”, only 14.2% of the respondents were strongly agreed with this statement. A highly significant relationship was found between age of respondents and application of information received through radio and TV. On the other side, education of the respondents had a highly significant relationship with the application of information received through radio only. Farming experience of the respondents had no significant relationship with the application of information received through TV and radio. Results suggested that extension personnel should motivate and educate the farming community about the use of electronic media (TV, radio, helpline, internet, mobile) for advanced information about agriculture production techniques.
Online via subscription. 2 pages., Introduction to the Farm Journal Foundation's America's Conservation Ag Movement, "a diverse conservation - and sustainability-focused public-private partnership."
Roth, Michael (author), Frixen, Miryam (author), Tobisch, Carlos (author), and Scholle, Thomas (author)
Format:
Proceedings
Publication Date:
2016
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08818
Notes:
Pages 283-298 in Rob Roggema (ed.), Agriculture in an urbanizing society volume one: proceedings of the sixth AESOP conference on sustainable food planning. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 549 pages.
19pgs, New communication methods and technology continue to emerge and evolve – as do societal trends – making it paramount that Extension professionals stay abreast with the preferred communication channels of potential clientele. By being aware of clients’ preferred communication channels, Extension professionals can increase the number of participants who benefit from their work while also improving the quality of the message being delivered. The present study examined the preferred communication channels of potential Extension clientele specifically when gathering information regarding their community. Specifically, a non-probability opt-in sampling procedure was employed whereby respondent (N = 3,347) communication channel preferences were analyzed from an audience segmentation and uses and gratifications perspective. Overall, the results indicated the most effective channels through which to reach potential Extension clientele under 50 years of age is through the internet and social media, while word of mouth and newspaper are preferred channels for those 50 and over. However, the results of the study indicate there are a variety of potential communication channels with varying degrees of preference among different audiences. Using study results as a starting point to inform communication channel strategy may help to Extension professionals ensure the correct message is provided to the correct audience via the correct channel.
14pgs, There is growing political pressure for farmers to use more sustainable agricultural practices to protect people and the planet. The farming press could encourage farmers to adopt sustainable practices through its ability to manipulate discourse and spread awareness by changing the salience of issues or framing topics in specific ways. We sought to understand how the UK farming press framed sustainable agricultural practices and how the salience of these practices changed over time. We combined a media content analysis of the farming press alongside 60 qualitative interviews with farmers and agricultural advisors to understand whether the farming press influenced farmers to try more sustainable practices. Salience of sustainable agricultural practices grew between 2009 and 2020. Many of the practices studied were framed by the press around economic and agronomic aspects, and farmer respondents said the most common reasons for trying sustainable agricultural practices were for economic and agronomic reasons. The farming press tended to use more positive rather than negative tones when covering sustainable agricultural practices. Respondents used the farming press as a source of information, though many did not fully trust these outlets as they believed the farming press were mouthpieces for agribusinesses. Whilst a minority of farmers stated they were motivated to try a new sustainable agricultural practice after learning about it in the farming press, this was rare. Instead, the farming press was used by respondents to raise their awareness about wider agricultural topics. We reflect on the role and power given to agribusinesses by the farming press and what this means for agricultural sustainability.
24 pages, Drawing from fieldwork of 14 small food farms in the Midwest, we describe the on-the-ground, practical challenges of doing and communicating sustainability when local food production is not well-supported. We illustrate how farmers enact learned and honed tactics of sustainability at key sites such as farmers' markets and the Internet with consumers. These tactics reveal tensions with dominant discourse from government, Big Ag, and popular culture. The success of these tactics depends on farmers having fortitude--control, resilience, and the wherewithal to be exemplars of sustainability. In our discussion, we highlight how the local farmers' social movement work constitutes loosely organized small groups connecting others to an amorphous idea of a sustainable society--one that sustains an environmental, economic, local, cultural, and physical way of life. Using Fine's concept of tiny publics, we identify design opportunities for supporting this less directed kind of social movement.
USA: Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12183
Notes:
Online from UMASH. 2 pages., Through use of an inverted pyramid, this article introduce a tool that emphasizes the value of preventing farm injuries and saving lives. Five sections of the pyramid range in effectiveness from "Elimination" (most effective) to "Personal Protective Equipment" (least effective).
18pgs, Can the power of digital communications create opportunities for overcoming generational renewal problems on farms? This interdisciplinary review explores the reported impacts of digital communication on career initiation into farming from a global perspective via the lens of career theories. Seventy-three papers were synthesized into two domains: (1) the impact of digital communication interactions on farming career initiation, and (2) the dynamics of digital communication initiatives that create opportunities to inspire youth into farming. The finding shows that the mainstream literature primarily aims to support the continuity of farming careers but pay little attention to the potential of digital communication to attract youth into farming. This review argues that career communications for farming receives insufficient attention, and could be better integrated into agricultural communications strategies by using the potential of digital communications. Study concludes that while economic and geographic factors, as well as societal and cultural norms, lead to negative perceptions on farming careers, there are three pathways that may contribute to breaking down these negative perceptions. Firstly, taking the changing nature of career motivations, such as the trend towards sustainable farming linked to self-fulfillment, among today’s youth into consideration is essential. Secondly, highlighting technological advances in digital agriculture practices, like geographical flexibility or innovation capacity of farming, for example, is important to increase awareness about new opportunities in the profession. Lastly, communication campaigns with targeted groups (e.g., young females) play a role to change the negative perceptions of the rural way of life and the farming profession.
5 pages, The main objective of this study was to find out how small farmers were affected by urbanization.
The study was conducted during 2020 in 2 barangays (districts ). Cagayan de Ore (CDO) City specifically canitoan and pagatpat, Philippines. There were 12 and 11 farmers in Canitoan and Pagatpat, respectively who participated the focus group discussion (FGD). Majority of them was
considered as small farmers due to the size of their farm which was less than 1 hectare. Around
70 hectares of agricultural land in Canitoan were transformed into a private housing subdivision.
Qualitative approach was employed using FGD and farmers were organized and interviewed as
a group. Data revealed that agricultural lands had been converted into residential or commercial
purposes. CDO agriculture area was decreased from 91.5 to 81.89%. Urbanization affected the farmer in term of displacement, income source, decrease economic status and negative motivation for agriculture. In conclusion, urbanization in CDO which brought progressive economic development had negatively affected the lives of some small farmers. We suggested proper policies to find alternatives for the farmers so that they could continue to produce food in the surroundings of the city and thus made city and rural areas more resilient in food supplies and also water regeneration.
1 page., September-November issue via online., Digitalisation is improving the agricultural extension system by providing services at the right time, and facilitating adoption of new agronomic practices, resulting in yield improvements and higher incomes for farming households.
15 pages., via online journal., The study analyzed 108 films released during the transformation agenda period. The proportion, frequency, centrality and framing of agricultural content in the movies were reviewed. Data obtained were described using frequency counts and percentages. One out of three movies screened had agricultural content, which was either one or two scenes in the movie (80.0%). Such content was mostly peripheral (89.0%) to the themes of the films and negatively framed (60.0%). Potentials of the industry for agricultural purposes were poorly utilized by government. Government should partner with Nollywood to portray agriculture in a positive light for improved citizens’ attitude toward agriculture.
11 pages, The world population is increasing in a disquieting rate while the quantity of food to gratify this snowballing human population is an annoyance to agrarian scientists and policymakers around the globe. Today's population is snatching natural resources from the future which can endanger the future generation's right to have nutritious food and clean air. The causes for this challenge can be enumerated and listed out, but singled out as lack of and/or poor implementation of novel approaches and practices for sustainable agriculture. Some of the novel approaches are but not limited to climate smart agriculture (CSA), organic farming, biodynamic agriculture, sustainable intensification and regenerative agriculture; and novel practices as integrated farming system (IFS), precision agriculture, integrated nutrient management (INM) and integrated pest management (IPM). The adoption of these approaches and practices has been proven to safeguard agricultural sustainability.
Beam, Brooke W. (author) and Specht, Annie R. (author)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
2016-02
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 162 Document Number: D08135
Notes:
Research paper presented in the Agricultural Communications Section, Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) in San Antonio, Texas, February 7-8, 2016. 26 pages.
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.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D11977
Notes:
Online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 2 pages., "For the first time in Gallup's 20 years of tracking Americans' views of various business and industry sectors, farming and agriculturee is the clear leader."
21 pgs, The purpose of this paper is to compare the reporting of vital agricultural news between the mainstream print media and the farming press in Ireland. To achieve this, this study examined coverage of a recent and significant agricultural news event by mainstream Irish newspapers and the Irish farming press. Taking the 2018–2019 Irish beef sector crisis as the case study for examination, researchers conducted a comparative content analysis of the most widely circulated mainstream national newspapers’ (n = 5) and farming newspapers’ (n = 2) coverage of the story over a 14-month period. We analyzed the timing, frequency, and placing of some 294 articles published to communicate issues regarding the beef crisis at three specific stages—before the national farmer protests, during the farmer protests, and after the farmer protests. We found mainstream newspapers to be significantly slower to start reporting on the Irish beef sector crisis of 2018–2019 compared to the country’s farming newspapers—although national print media coverage of the event increased as the crisis escalated. This early underreporting of the event by mainstream newspapers is compelling considering the importance of the agri-food sector, and beef farming in particular, to Ireland’s economy. Building on existing international, but very limited Irish, research on agricultural journalism, we concluded that farming newspapers are more in touch with the critical issues affecting Irish farmers while mainstream newspapers appeared slower to cover a vital agricultural issue of public importance.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08867
Notes:
Pages 171-214 in Ormrod, James S. (ed.), Changing our environment, changing ourselves: nature, labour, knowledge and alienation. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London. 315 pages.
18 pages, The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of farmers on basic computer literacy, social media use, and to explore which social and demographic factors affected their knowledge capacity. The study had a final sample of 176 participants from the northern, southern and central regions of Trinidad and Tobago. A survey instrument comprising of 14 multiple-choice questions with one accurate response was developed to decrease bias of farmers randomly selecting the accurate response. The questions addressed knowledge on basic computer and social media literacy. Analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc testing. Results indicated that there were significant differences in farmers’ performance in the knowledge test based on characteristics such as age, education, and household use of social media and the internet. Based on the findings, minimal training in computer and social media literacy did not impede the farmers’ use of the computer or social media. These discoveries highlight the potential of extension programs using the internet and social media applications to improve communication efficiency among agricultural stakeholders within farming communities.
International: CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Victoria, Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10510
Notes:
217 pages., ISBN:9781486306404, 217 pages., Social Science and Sustainability draws on the wide-ranging experience of CSIRO'S social scientists in the sustainability policy domain. These researchers have extensive experience in addressing complex issues of society-nature relationships, usually in interdisciplinary collaboration with natural scientists. This book describes some of the evidence-based concepts, frameworks and methodologies they have developed, which may guide a transition to sustainability. Contributions range from exploring ways to enhance livelihoods and alleviate poverty, to examining Australians' responses to climate change, to discussing sociological perspectives on sustainability and how to make policy relevant.
19 pages, 19 pages, The price fluctuation in agricultural markets is an obstacle to poverty reduction for small-scale farmers in developing countries. We build a microfoundation to study how farmers with heterogeneous production costs, under price fluctuations, make crop-planting decisions over time to maximize their individual welfare. We consider both strategic farmers, who rationally anticipate the near-future price as a basis for making planting decisions, and naive farmers, who shortsightedly react to the most recent crop price. The latter behavior may cause recurring overproduction or underproduction, which leads to price fluctuations. We find it important to cultivate a sufficient number of strategic farmers because their self-interested behavior alone, made possible by sufficient market information, can reduce price volatility and improve total social welfare. In the absence of strategic farmers, a well-designed preseason buyout contract, offered by a social entrepreneur or a for-profit firm to a fraction of contract farmers, brings benefit to farmers as well as to the firm itself. More strikingly, the contract not only equalizes the individual welfare in the long run among farmers of the same production cost, but it also reduces individual welfare disparity over time among farmers with heterogeneous costs regardless of whether they are contract farmers or not. On the other hand, a nonsocially optimal buyout contract may reflect a social entrepreneur's over-subsidy tendency or a for-profit firm's speculative incentive to mitigate but not eliminate the market price fluctuation, both preventing farmers from achieving the most welfare.
5 pages., September-November issue via online., Digitalisation is improving the agricultural extension system by providing services at the right time, and facilitating adoption of new agronomic practices, resulting in yield improvements and higher incomes for farming households.
29pgs, Farmers experience poor health outcomes and are considered ‘hard to reach’. Agricultural advisors (‘advisors’) are uniquely positioned to support and signpost farmers on health issues. This paper explores the acceptability and terms of reference of a potential health role for advisors, and offers key recommendations for developing a bespoke farmers’ health training programme.
International: Center for Food Integrity, Gladstone, Missouri.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 166 Document Number: D11681
Notes:
3 pages., News release via online., News release covering a meeting panelist's remarks during a webinar about shifting sustainability priorities related to the food system.
23 pages, Via UI Library online subscription., Authors described issues and potentials addressed by poor women farmers in India through sanghams (cooperatives). Findings pointed toward the desire and need for communication sovereignty in resistance to patriarchal, expert-led concepts of privatization that discount their knowledge and their role in making decisions.
Garcia, Claude A. (author), Sasvilaakso, Sini (author), Verburg, Rene W. (author), Gutierrez, Victoria (author), Wilson, Sarah J. (author), Krug, Cornelia B. (author), Sassen, Marieke (author), Robinson, Brian E. (author), Moersberger, Hannah (author), Naimi, Babak (author), Rhemtulia, Jeanine M. (author), Dessard, Helene (author), Gond, Valery (author), Vermeulen, Cedric (author), Trolliet, Franck (author), Oszwald, Johan (author), Quetier, Fabien (author), Pietsch, Stephan A. (author), Bastin, Jean-Francois (author), Dray, Anne (author), Araujo, Miguel (author), Ghazoul, Jaboury (author), and Waeber, Patrick O. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11697
12 pages., Authors note no clear evidence that global efforts against forest loss, fragmentation,and degradation of land use are working. As key reason, they point to apparent ineffectiveness in involving all stakeholders involved. "Forest transitions are social and behavioral before they are ecological. Decision makers need to integrate better representations of people's agency in their mental models. ... Games can help decision makers in all of these tasks."
Purpose: The impact of agricultural knowledge transfer (KT) is related to the access to and the quality of services available. Within this context, the allocation of resources in terms of KT offices and the number of advisers are important considerations for understanding KT impact. This quantitative study evaluates the impact of KT resources on farm profitability for clients in Ireland during the recessionary period 2008–2014.
Design/Methodology: Teagasc, the public KT service provider in Ireland, experienced significant office closures (43%) and a reduction in advisers (38%) during the economic crisis, yet client numbers declined only slightly (4.5%). Administrative data are merged with a panel data set on farm-level performance to evaluate the impact through Random Effects estimation.
Findings: The results show that clients gained a 12.3% benefit to their margin per hectare over the period. However, there was a negative effect of 0.2% for each additional client assigned to the adviser which averaged at 9.6%.
Practical Implications: The quantitative findings provide a measure of impact that represents the value for money for the KT service. The key implication is that the client ratio for advisers should be considered when allocating resources and lower ratios would positively impact client margins.
Theoretical Implications: This article outlines the value of quantitative studies to estimate impact in a clear translatable manner which can aid the policy discussion around resource deployment.
Originality/Value: This study evaluates the impact of KT during a recessionary period when resources were constrained, and uses client ratios to examine the spatial effects.
14 pages, via online journal, We combine nationally representative household and labor force survey data from 1992 to 2016 to provide a detailed description of rural labor market evolution and how it relates to the structural transformation of rural Vietnam, especially within the agricultural sector. Our study adds to the emerging literature on structural transformation in low-income countries using micro-level data and helps to answer several policy-related questions. We find limited employment creation potential of agriculture, especially for youth. Rural-urban real wage convergence has gone hand-in-hand with increased diversification of the rural economy into the non-farm sector nationwide and rapid advances in educational attainment in all sectors’ and regions’ workforce. Minimum wage laws seem to have played no significant role in increasing agricultural wages. This enhanced integration also manifests in steady attenuation of the longstanding inverse farm size-yield relationship. Farming has remained securely household-based and the family farmland distribution has remained largely unchanged. Small farm sizes have not obstructed mechanization nor the uptake of labor-saving pesticides, consistent with factor substitution induced by rising real wage rates. As rural households rely more heavily on the labor market, human capital accumulation (rather than land endowments) have become the key correlate of improvements in rural household well-being.
14 pages, Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the U.S. and other countries around the world saw a dramatic increase in the number of people starting pandemic gardens. In this article, the authors use rhetorical framing analysis to explore how news coverage of this gardening boom presented the illusion of control framed around the themes of economics, food sovereignty, physical and mental health, and community and connection. It concludes with a discussion of how these four themes offer an overly-optimistic view of gardening that deemphasizes sustainability, focuses on processes over harvests, and ignores food chain inequities.
Balkan, Büsra Atamer (author), Lindqvist, Andreas Nicolaidis (author), Odoemena, Kelechi (author), Lambd, Robert (author), Tiongco, Monique Ann (author), Gupta, Stueti (author), Peterud, Arpitha (author), and Menendez III, Hector Manuel (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2021-09
Published:
Germany: CENTMA Research
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12695
16 pages, COVID-19 has caused severe agriculture and food supply chain disruptions, significantly affecting smallholder farmers who supply most of the world’s food, specifically their changes in vulnerability, resilience, and food loss and waste. Therefore, the objective of this study was to understand the complex causal and feedback relationships for this system by developing a dynamic hypothesis and causal loop diagrams utilizing the System Dynamics methodology. Results provide a roadmap for dialogue and a framework for case-specific model development and help to guide policy decisions for smallholder farmers’ survival during health crises.
16 pages, Zimbabwe’s agro-ecological regions IV and V lie in low rainfall areas and food security is a perennial concern. Vertical coordination strategies and market institutions provide hope for building farmer resilience in regions affected by climate change in Zimbabwe. This study focused on four districts (Binga, Chiredzi, Hwange, Matobo) which are in regions IV and V. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 281 respondents. Probit and Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the determinants. Results show that contract farmers allocated more than 3 hectares to small grains agricultural enterprise. The research established that long distances to markets, access to credit, extension services and affiliation to farming groups are some critical determinants which influence market participation and yields sold.
