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92. How have smallholder farmers used digital extension tools? Developer and user voices from Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Coggins, Sam (author), McCampbell, Mariette (author), Sharma, Akriti (author), Sharma, Rama (author), Haefele, Stephen (author), Karki, Emma (author), Hetherington, Jack (author), Smith, Jeremy (author), and Brown, Brendan (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-03-01
- Published:
- United States: Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12486
- Journal Title:
- Global Food Security
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 32
- Notes:
- 10 pages, Digital extension tools (DETs) include phone calls, WhatsApp groups and specialised smartphone applications used for agricultural knowledge brokering. We researched processes through which DETs have (and have not) been used by farmers and other extension actors in low- and middle-income countries. We interviewed 40 DET developers across 21 countries and 101 DET users in Bihar, India. We found DET use is commonly constrained by fifteen pitfalls (unawareness of DET, inaccessible device, inaccessible electricity, inaccessible mobile network, insensitive to digital illiteracy, insensitive to illiteracy, unfamiliar language, slow to access, hard to interpret, unengaging, insensitive to user's knowledge, insensitive to priorities, insensitive to socio-economic constraints, irrelevant to farm, distrust). These pitfalls partially explain why women, less educated and less wealthy farmers often use DETs less, as well as why user-driven DETs (e.g. phone calls and chat apps) are often used more than externally-driven DETs (e.g. specialised smartphone apps). Our second key finding was that users often made - not just found - DETs useful for themselves and others. This suggests the word ‘appropriation’ conceptualises DET use more accurately and helpfully than the word ‘adoption’. Our final key finding was that developers and users advocated almost ubiquitously for involving desired users in DET provision. We synthesise these findings in a one-page framework to help funders and developers facilitate more useable, useful and positively impactful DETs. Overall, we conclude developers increase DET use by recognizing users as fellow developers – either through collaborative design or by designing adaptable DETs that create room for user innovation.
93. How to use crowdfunding in extension: a relationship education example
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Monk, J. Kale (author), Vennum, Amber V. (author), and Kanter, Jeremy B. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-08-01
- Published:
- Extension Journal, Inc.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 78 Document Number: D10811
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 57(4)
- Notes:
- 15 pages., Article #: 4TOT3, via online journal., Crowdfunding is a resource that allows individuals or groups to raise funds while simultaneously engaging relevant communities and, thus, is an important tool for Extension specialists. We provide recommended steps for successful crowdfunding, including tips for identifying a website, developing or refining a proposal, and crafting a marketing and campaign strategy. We use the successful crowdfunding of a relationship education program as an example.
94. Human Development and Food Sovereignty: A Step Closer to Achieving Food Security in South Africa's Rural Households
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Mbajiorgu, Grace (author)
- Format:
- Journal Article
- Publication Date:
- unknown
- Published:
- South Africa: SAGE Journals
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11873
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Asian and African Studies
- Journal Title Details:
- Volume 55 pgs. 330-350
- Notes:
- 20 pages, Food security strategies are determined by the prevailing realities within households and communities. Therefore, it is not surprising that in South Africa agricultural transformation is an important food security strategy. This article examines the role of human development and food sovereignty in fostering conditions that enable rural households to enhance their food security capabilities. Using an in-depth analysis of literature, national, regional and international instruments, this article takes its departure from the fact that subsistence agriculture is an effective strategy for improving household food needs when implemented within the broader human rights framework of human development. The results reveal that agriculture has the potential to increase household food security if appropriate agricultural technologies and productive resources such as land are made accessible to households. Further, for agriculture to attain optimal efficiency as a food security strategy, policies on agrarian transformation should be implemented within broader social development programmes.
95. Identifying gender-responsive approaches in rural advisory services that contribute to the institutionalisation of gender in Pakistan
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Lamontagne-Godwin, J. (author), Cardey, S. (author), Williams, F. E. (author), Dorward, P. T. (author), Aslam, N. (author), and Almas, M. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-04
- Published:
- Taylor & Francis
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 32 Document Number: D10639
- Journal Title:
- The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 25(3): 267-288
- Notes:
- 23 pages., via online journal., Unequal reach and access to information is an issue that affects women involved in agricultural activities around the world. Recent initiatives to address gender unequal access to agricultural information have been clumsy, overlooking participatory approaches that focus on transformative change. This study uses Pakistani rural advisory services to compare farmers' and extension workers’ perceptions of access to agricultural information, to identify culturally acceptable gender-responsive schemes.
96. Impact of agricultural extension services on cereal production among rural farmers in Bhutan
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Shangshon, Bhakta (author), Polthanee, Anan (author), Wongsamun, Chaicharn (author), and Suriya, Patcharee (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2023-01-21
- Published:
- Nigeria: Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12796
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 27, N.1
- Notes:
- 14 pages, This study explored impact of agricultural extension services on cereal production. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire from a random sample of 262 farmers from four regions (east, west, north, and south) in Bhutan. Farmers assessed the impact of extension services on five aspects of cereal production (cereal seed, social, environmental, production, and marketing aspects). Percentages and an ordered logistic model were used to analyze the data. The study found a low level of farmers’ participation in extension services. The social aspect of cereal production was the most impacted by the extension programmes, while the marketing aspect was the least impacted. The farmers’ cultivated dry land (Coeff. = 0.21) and wetland (Coeff. = 0.72), their participation in extension services (Coeff. = 0.61), and the extra labour (Coeff. = 0.24) significantly contributed to cereal production. The provision of effective and high-quality extension programs by extension agents is critical for smallholder farmers to enhance their agricultural production.
97. Implementing a successful national e-forum
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Lobley, Jennifer (author), Edwards, Harriett C. (author), Vettern, Rachelle (author), Lesmeister, Marilyn K. (author), and McKinley, Steve (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-08
- Published:
- United States: Extension Journal, Inc.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 77 Document Number: D10809
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 57(4)
- Notes:
- 7 pages., Article #: 4IAW3, via online journal., The National 4-H Volunteer e-Forum is an alternative to multistate, face-to-face volunteer forums. Building on the success of regional e-forums, a collaborative group planned and offered three webinars that were relevant, economical, consistent, and convenient to attend. A blended learning strategy can successfully be used for focusing on both volunteer and organizational needs when approached with intentionality. Extension can use this model broadly to develop better trained corps of volunteers. Data-driven recommendations are included for Extension professionals interested in exploring hybrid training options.
98. Influence of public agricultural extension on technology adoption by small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Worth, S. (author) and Masere, T.P. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-11
- Published:
- South Africa: SciELO
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12446
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 49 No. 1 (2021)
- Notes:
- 18 pages, This paper presents the findings of challenges facing Zimbabwe’s extension services and how these have affected the adoption of technologies they render to small-scale farmers. This study uses a critical review of relevant literature on Zimbabwe’s primary public extension agency (AGRITEX). Additionally, 21 key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted to corroborate data collected in secondary research on extension approaches currently in use, the key factors affecting technology adoption, and the technology adoption process of small-scale farmers. The study found AGRITEX’s major challenges to be poor funding, poor remuneration and incentives for extension personnel, lack of in-service training, lack of appropriate technology, as well as poor operational resources like transport to reach all farmers. Consequently, services offered to small-scale farmers were compromised, which led to poor adoption of recommended technologies. Furthermore, the study determined that key factors influencing technology adoption are related to the farmers’ circumstances, the operating environment, and the attributes of technology itself. As a lasting solution to poor technology adoption, an adaptive extension system that promotes building the capacity of extension workers and researchers, as well as embracing farmers and their indigenous knowledge, is proposed
99. Information and Communication Technologies to Provide Agricultural Advice to Smallholder Farmers: Experimental Evidence from Uganda
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Van Campenhout, Bjorn (author), Spielman, David J. (author), and Lecoutere, Els (author)
- Format:
- Journal Article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-03-26
- Published:
- United States: Wiley Online
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12029
- Journal Title:
- American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol 103, Issue 1
- Notes:
- 21 Pages, Agricultural advisory services generally rely on interpersonal knowledge transfers by agricultural extension agents who visit farmers to provide information. This approach is not always effective and has proved hard to scale sustainably, particularly in highly dispersed smallholder farming systems. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been advanced as a promising way to overcome many of the problems associated with conventional agricultural extension. We evaluate the effectiveness of an ICT‐mediated approach to deliver agricultural information in a field experiment conducted among small‐scale maize farmers in eastern Uganda. Three complementary technologies designed to address both informational and behavioral constraints to technical change are considered. First, we investigate the effectiveness of audiovisual messages (video) as a means of delivering information on input use and improved maize management practices to farmers. Second, we quantify the additional impact of complementing video with an interactive voice response (IVR) service. Third, we estimate the incremental effect of time‐sensitive short message services (SMS) messages designed to remind farmers about applying key practices at specific points during the season. We find that households that were shown a short video on how to become better maize farmers were performing significantly better on a knowledge test, more likely to apply recommended practices, and more likely to use fertilizer than households that did not view the video. These same households also reported maize yields about 10.5% higher than those that did not view the video. We find little evidence of an incremental effect of the IVR service or SMS reminders.
100. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Spielman, David J. (author), Lecoutere, Els (author), Makhija, V.K. (author), and Van Campenhout, Bjorn (author)
- Format:
- journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-06-02
- Published:
- United States: Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, CA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12536
- Journal Title:
- Annual Review of Resource Economics
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol 13
- Notes:
- 27 pages, With new possibilities offered by information and communications technology (ICT), an abundance of products, services, and projects has emerged with the promise of revitalizing agricultural extension in developing countries. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that not all ICT-enabled extension approaches are equally effective in improving adoption, productivity, income, or welfare outcomes. In this review, we explore various conceptual and methodological threads in the literature on ICT-enabled extension in developing countries. We examine the role of multiple impact pathways, highlighting how ICTs influence behaviors and preferences,gender and intrahousehold dynamics, spillovers, and public worker incentives. We also explore the opportunities presented by ICT-enabled extension for increasing the methodological rigor with which extension outcomes are identified. These conceptual and methodological insights—coupled with empirical evidence from prior studies—offer direction for several lines of policy-relevant research on ICT-enabled extension.