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.
12 pages, Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is adversely affected by climate variability and change due to the dependence of its economies and livelihoods primarily on rain-fed agriculture. Agro-advisories boost informed decision-making as well as planning of farm activities. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pathways through which farmers receive usable location-specific agro-advisories as well as to evaluate the effect of the socio-economic environment in the access to such information. Data was collected from 400 randomly selected households in lower eastern Kenya in a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate probit regression was used to determine the factors influencing the choice of pathways used in accessing climate change adaptation information. Household socio-economic characteristics that were found to be significant in explaining access to disseminated agro-advisories include phone and radio ownership, level of education, marital status, and farm size among others. Based on these findings a conclusion is made that the socio-economic environment within which information is disseminated is vital in determining those who access information and probably act on it. Additionally, pathways found to be complementary or substitutable give information providers new insights on the channels to use in information dissemination. The study recommends that these factors be considered in efforts geared towards promoting agro-advisory preparation and dissemination to improve adaptation to climate variability and change in dryland areas.
Installing fiber-optic internet in sparsely populated places like western Kansas is extremely expensive, even with government subsidies. But some smaller, local broadband providers are finding ways to make it work where the big national companies have not.
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.
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.
Online from publication. 1 page., Radio Station KRVN, Lexington, Nebraska - "The rural voice of Nebraska" - observed its 70th anniversary on February 1 with a special all-day celebration that featured fond memories shared by listeners and guest appearances from former KRVN legends.
Miller, Alfred (author / Louisville Courier-Journal)
Format:
Article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11197
Notes:
Online from the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. 16 pages., Report of a troubled and costly effort to provide "high-speed internet to Kentucky''s remote corners."
