10 pages., via online journal., Purpose: Agricultural extension graduates do not get jobs and farmers are not getting agricultural
extension services, and therefore, both the farmers and agricultural graduates do not receive benefi ts.
The study assessed the interest of agricultural extension students in providing private extension services
to farmers, examined their perception towards private extension services and identifi ed extension skills
possessed by the students.
Research Method: The study comprised all the fi nal year students in the Universities in Osun State. A
two – stage sampling procedure was used to select the respondents. One university was selected from
each category of federal, state and private. A total of 68 respondents were selected and interviewed.
Data collected were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: The results show that the mean age, mean years of formal education of the respondents
were 23.75 ± 2.02 and 17.40 ± 1.16, respectively. About half (51.5%) of the respondents had positive
perception towards the private extension service while 57 percent had high interest in providing private
extension services. Majority of them possessed teaching skills (97.1%), innovation dissemination
skills (95.5%) and communication skills (88.2%). Also, sources of agricultural information available
(χ2=22.448), types of sponsors (χ2=6.102) and marital status (χ2=16.535) had a signifi cant association
with respondents’ interest in providing private agricultural extension services.
Research Limitation: The study focuses on the interest of agricultural extension graduates to provide
private extension services; however, these graduates may have an interest in other areas that have not
been investigated.
Original Value: The study provides an insight to show the interest and capability of agricultural students
to be engaged in private extension services as a livelihood
13 pages., via online journal., This study examined the feasibility of the use of mobile phones as an educational tool in agricultural extension services in the Guilan Province of Iran. A descriptive-survey methodology was employed on a sample population of 120 agricultural extension agents. Data were analyzed at descriptive and inferential levels using SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The results of the factor analysis indicated that the application of mobile phones in extension activities was influenced by three factors: economic, skill, and infrastructure. These factors accounted for 52.3% of the variance. Moreover, the possibility for the development of mobile phones as an educational medium is impacted by social, financial-credit, information-communicational, psychological, and improper conditions factors that, in total, captured 70.4% of the variance.
5 pages., Article # 1IAW6, vial online journal, Project Happy Apples began as an effort to assist backyard growers in managing codling moth in their fruit trees. We developed a process using emails and a web page to provide timely information related to the life cycle of codling moth and relevant integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. The content of our updates included pertinent photos, costs of tools, and suggested dates of action. Results from a survey of participants suggest that they were more confident, knowledgeable, and successful in using IPM strategies in their own backyards as a result of our project.
