Radhakrishna, Rama (author), Cidro, Dario A. (author), and Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE).
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
2006-05-14
Published:
Philippines
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 150 Document Number: C24254
Notes:
Retrieved June 16, 2006, Pages 134-142 in proceedings of the AIAEE conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, May 14-17, 2006., Traces differences between effectiveness ratings of farmers and extension agents.
15 pages., via online journal, Radio is the most widely used medium for disseminating information to rural audiences across Africa. Even in very poor communities, radio penetration is vast; it is estimated there are over 800 million radios in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper summarizes evidence on food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa and strategies to provide information on innovative agricultural practices to smallholder farmers. The research in this paper is then discussed within the context of research on information and communication technologies (ICTS) for development. Next, the paper presents the ICT-enhanced participatory radio campaign approach and ICT innovations introduced by Farm Radio International, a Canadian nongovernmental organization. The paper analyzes two participatory radio campaigns that use both listening groups and ICTs to engage African farmers. Research on these radio campaigns in six African countries is reported to examine how the participatory approach impacted listenership, knowledge and initial adoption of agricultural techniques and practices presented in the radio campaigns. The authors conclude that the findings of research on these projects could be highly relevant for increasing awareness and adoption of agricultural practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. They also appear promising for other development sectors and for other developing regions
21 pgs., CTs (Communications technologies) have revolutionized agricultural information services at every level in the agricultural sector, thus impacting rural development and catalysing poverty alleviation strategies. This has largely been the case with small-scale farmers in rural areas in developing countries where mobile technologies have penetrated more than most other ICT tools. However, in some of the farming environments, mobile phone use is largely driven by agricultural extension workers. This paper seeks to examine the way mobile phones are used for information access in situations where agricultural extension workers are a critical intermediary in the agricultural information services. Interviews were conducted with 10 randomly selected farmers who were part of the Dzindi irrigation scheme. The findings were that from the variety of information available to the farmers the most important source was the extension officer. The extension officer and the radio were indicated to be the most reliable independent sources of information. The other sources, such as the radio, family members, and friends, suppliers of chemicals, books and magazines, were only considered reliable if the information could be verified or vouched for by the extension officer. Increasing the information handling skills of extension officers, training of farmers to use smart features of their phones and promoting the usual face-to-face communication use of conventional methods, which is what usually gives rise to the mediation of mobile phones, were recommended.
USA: University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C28672
Notes:
70 pages, "This book is intended as a critique of the field of development communication and in this, anthropology has a key role to play." Author examines the uses of radio for development, the impact on oral culture and the use of radio by indigenous people in Ecuator and miners in Bolivia.
