Byrnes, Francis C. (author / Internation Agricultural Development Service) and Internation Agricultural Development Service
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1978
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 46 Document Number: B05585
Notes:
Francis C. Byrnes Collection, National Conference of National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA). Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. June 8, 1978. 15 p.
6 pages., via online journal., ICT has been initiated and implemented effectively by the
public private partnership, government, researchers and various
Institutions. Availability of wireless service, Internet and mobile
communication have forced ICT to find foothold in daily routine
of the Indian farmers. ICT has huge impact in agricultural
development but still in natal stage. Many farmers are not availing
the actual potential of ICT due to poverty, social constraint,
illiteracy, language barriers and unwillingness to adopt new
technology. Many Indian farmers have reported positive change
in income, quality of produce and timely access to the market
information by using latest mobile application. WhatsApp is the
most popular and easy to use Mobile Instant Messaging service
amongst the Indian farmer. It supports sharing of localized
information and utilizing these services as query redressal
public platform. This paper is an attempt to gather meaningful
agricultural data for analysis and filtering of relevant need based
information assessment. The main focus of the present work is to
develop an automatic information handling and redressal of the
need based agricultural information system using WhatsApp as
social media platform.
Ochilo, Willis N. (author), Ruffhead, Holly (author), Rumsey, Abigail (author), Chege, Florence (author), Lusweti, Charles (author), Oronje, Mary Lucy (author), and Otieno, Washington (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
Taylor & Francis
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 77 Document Number: D10807
18 pages., via online journal., Mobile apps are increasingly being used to answer development challenges around the world. The development opportunities that apps offer is wide-reaching but uptake of the technology varies. This article examines the ease of use and factors impacting user acceptance and behavior when interacting with an app for agricultural extension in Kenya. Results show factors including gender and age play a role in the adoption of technology by agricultural extension agents. The findings have useful lessons for apps’ development in the agricultural sector and suggest that including intended users of an app in the design process significantly increases usability.
17 Pages., Given the marked heterogeneous conditions in smallholder agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a growing policy interest in site-specific extension advice and the use of digital extension tools to provide site-specific information. Empirical ex-ante studies on the design of digital extension tools and their use are rare. Using data from a choice experiment in Nigeria, we elicit and analyze the preferences of extension agents for major design features of ICT-enabled decision support tools (DSTs) aimed at site-specific nutrient management extension advice. We estimate different models, including mixed logit, latent class and attribute non-attendance models. We find that extension agents are generally willing to use such DSTs and prefer a DST with a more user-friendly interface that requires less time to generate results. We also find that preferences are heterogeneous: some extension agents care more about the effectiveness-related features of DSTs, such as information accuracy and level of detail, while others prioritise practical features, such as tool platform, language and interface ease-of-use. Recognising and accommodating such preference differences may facilitate the adoption of DSTs by extension agents and thus enhance the scope for such tools to impact the agricultural production decisions of farmers.
17 pages, The rise in the demand for animal products due to demographic and dietary changes has exacerbated difficulties in addressing societal concerns related to the environment, human health, and animal welfare. As a response to this challenge, Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies are being developed to monitor animal health and welfare parameters in a continuous and automated way, offering the opportunity to improve productivity and detect health issues at an early stage. However, ethical concerns have been raised regarding their potential to facilitate the management of production systems that are potentially harmful to animal welfare, or to impact the human-animal relationship and farmers' duty of care. Using the Five Domains Model (FDM) as a framework, the aim is to explore the potential of PLF to help address animal welfare and to discuss potential welfare benefits and risks of using such technology. A variety of technologies are identified and classified according to their type [sensors, bolus, image or sound based, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)], their development stage, the species they apply to, and their potential impact on welfare. While PLF technologies have promising potential to reduce the occurrence of diseases and injuries in livestock farming systems, their current ability to help promote positive welfare states remains limited, as technologies with such potential generally remain at earlier development stages. This is likely due to the lack of evidence related to the validity of positive welfare indicators as well as challenges in technology adoption and development. Finally, the extent to which welfare can be improved will also strongly depend on whether management practices will be adapted to minimize negative consequences and maximize benefits to welfare.
