Abbott, Eric A. (author / Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication) and Iowa State University
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
2004-06-20
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 139 Document Number: C21022
Notes:
Paper presented to Research Special Interest Group, Association for Communication Excellence, for presentation at its international meeting, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, June 20-24. Paul Yarbrough, emeritus professor, Cornell University, contributed to the design of the study., 16 p., A total of 226 Iowa farm households with computers were surveyed in 2001 about their use of the Internet for both farm and non-farm uses. Of the 111 farmers (49%) that responded, 87 (78%) used the Internet. Results showed heavy Internet use by multiple household members (farmer, spouse and children), especially for information-seeking and email activities. Use of the Internet for transactions was limited. Farmers were more likely to seek farm decision information, whereas children were more likely to play games and use the Internet for school activities. Spouses used the Internet mostly for email. Farmers now regard the Internet as an essential tool for gathering information they couldn't find elsewhere. Implications for communicators are that the Internet should now be part of the information plan for all communicators serving rural farm audiences, both for farm and non-farm information. Extension and other trusted sources should spend more time guiding clients to trustworthy sites for information.
Landini, Fernando (author), Bianqui, Vanina (author), Vargas, Gilda (author), Inés Mathot y Rebolé, María (author), Martinez, Manuela (author), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina National Council of Scientific and Technological Research, Argentina
University of La Cuenca del Plata, Argentina
University of Morón, Argentina
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2017-10-07
Published:
Argentina: Science Direct
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 106 Document Number: D10934
12 pages, via online journal, Working with farmers' groups, associations and cooperatives constitutes a fundamental element of extension work with family farmers. Despite the fact that extension practitioners face many problems in this area of their work, there is currently a lack of academic literature that systematically addresses the topic and offers concrete guidelines for practice. Thus, this paper will aim to clarify the benefits of farmers' groups, associations and networks within the context of family farming, systematise problems faced by rural extensionists when working with farmers' groups and associations, provide conceptual tools for understanding group and associative processes, and construct a set of guidelines and recommendations for facing said problems. In order to achieve these aims, the authors conducted an extensive literature review and drew upon their personal experience on the topic.
Results suggest that some of the benefits of associative work are: better access to inputs, produce and credit markets, the facilitation of learning processes, the empowerment of family farmers as social actors, and a reduction of rural extension costs. Additionally, with respects to the problems faced by extensionists, the following can be highlighted: individualist attitudes and conflicts between farmers, scarce participation and commitment, problems with leaderships and with organisations' administrative management, and the lack of extensionists' training to address these processes, among others. With regards to the factors that increase trust and cooperation are: interpersonal communication and mutual knowledge, sharing problems, values and objectives, and the existence of shared rules for the functioning of the group that include sanctions for transgressors. In this context, the extensionists' role will be that of facilitating processes of construction of group relationships, creating rules for the groups' functioning and developing the group's capacities for self-management.
