13 pages., Article #: 3FEA2, via online journal., A multiple indicators, multiple causes, or MIMIC, modeling framework can be used for analyzing a variety of farmer decision-making situations where multiple outcomes are possible. Example applications include analyses of farmer use of multiple information sources, management practices, or technologies. We applied the framework to analyze use of multiple information sources by beef cattle farmers. We provide measures of how farmer demographics, farm characteristics, and risk attitudes influenced farmer use of information from Extension, producer groups, popular press, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Internet, and other farmers. Education and greater willingness to take risk positively influenced information use among the farmers we studied. Our process has implications for broader use within Extension.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 136 Document Number: C20806
Notes:
Burton Swanson Collection, from "Integrating multiple landuse for a sustainable future" 15th European Seminar on Extension and Education, Wageningen International Conference Centre, The Netherlands, August 27-31, 2001
19 pages., ISSN: 2168-3565 (Print)
2168-3573 (Online), Via online journal, Biodiversity conservation outside designated protected areas remains challenging in South Africa, where 80% of the biodiversity resources occur on private and communal lands. This applies to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, which is the focus of this study. Landholders logically choose agricultural production ahead of conservation, which they often perform using non-ecological methods. Extension is well positioned to promote ecological agriculture, but its current contribution is unknown. This study examined the role of extension in ecological agriculture in KZN by investigating extension’s promotion of ecological agriculture among smallholder farmers and the factors impacting their employment of ecologically compatible practices. Data was collected through semistructured interviews with 44 respondents, comprising 5 provincial biodiversity conservation practitioners, 1 national biodiversity conservation manager, and 1 national and 4 provincial agricultural extension managers, selected by purposive sampling; as well as 25 extension officers and 8 farmers, selected by convenience sampling. The study found that extension mainly engages in technology transfer and distribution of production inputs, which poses challenges to biodiversity conservation. Extension shows little concern for biodiversity, and effectively promotes its degradation. Four sets of factors impacting extension’s capacity to promote ecological agriculture emerged: household/community-level, governmental, extension management, and ecological factors. Key among these were inadequate involvement of youth and men in agriculture; inadequate household production resources; poor collaboration and coordination between extension and biodiversity conservation institutions; top-down extension intervention; poor extension management and delivery capacities; and irregular and inadequate rainfall, as well as droughts and flooding. The study concluded that there is a need for a clearly articulated extension and biodiversity conservation policy supporting appropriate linkages and better coordination and integration of services among extension and biodiversity agencies within the National and Provincial Departments of Agriculture and with farmers; more effective agricultural education in schools; strengthening extension support systems; and creating conducive atmospheres for effective extension.
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.
Abstract via online journal. 2 pages., Technological innovation is vital to economic growth and food security in sub-Saharan Africa where agricultural productivity has been stagnant for a long time. Extension services and learning from peer farmers are two common approaches to facilitate the diffusion of new technologies, but little is known about their relative effectiveness. Selection bias, whereby well-motivated training participants would perform better even without extension services, as well as knowledge spillovers, where non-participants can indirectly benefit from extension services, are among the major threats to causal inference. Using a unique sequential randomized experiment on agricultural training, this study attempts to meet the dual objectives of executing rigorous impact evaluation of extension services and subsequent spillovers on rice production in Cote d’Ivoire. Specifically, to reduce selection bias, we randomly assigned eligibility for training participation; and to satisfy the stable unit treatment value assumption, control-group farmers were initially restricted from exchanging information with treated-group farmers who had received rice management training. Once some positive impacts were confirmed, information exchange between the treated and control farmers was encouraged. We found that the initial performance gaps created by the randomized assignment disappeared over time, due presumably to social learning from peer farmers. A detailed analysis concerning the information network and peer effects provided suggestive evidence that there were information and technology spillovers from treated to control farmers after removing the information exchange restriction. Overall, our study demonstrates that information dissemination by farmers can be as effective in improving practices as the initial training provided by extension services.
Agricultural information needs of extension officers in Africa are identified as control of major pests, credit and co-operatives, proper handling of insecticides, marketing of agricultural products, etc. The information needs of farmers are identified to be in arears of the supply of fertilizers, pest and diseases control, planting materials and credits and loans. The emphasis on information needs of farmers is on "why," "who," "where," and "how" to obtain information. In order to understand the information needs of their client, librarians' and information specialists trainig and ecuation should be reoriented to include coursed on agricultural escienes, rural sociolgoy, adult education and computer sciences. The University of Botswana in agricultural information with the support of the Technical Centre for Agriculture (CTA), which is sponsoring the General Programme for Education, PROGEFIA. With the provision of appropriate and timely agricultural information to extension officers and farmers, an increase in agricultureal production in Africa may be attained.
