« Previous |
1 - 10 of 25
|
Next »
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
2. Analysis of Village Extension Agents' Access and Use of Information and Communication Technology in Delivery of Extension Services in the Central Agricultural Zone of Plateau State, Nigeria
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Vihi, S.K. (author), Tor, L.G. (author), Jesse, B. (author), Dalla, AA.. (author), Onuwa, G.C. (author), and Haroun, M. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-10-21
- Published:
- Russia: iVolga Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12427
- Journal Title:
- Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol.118(10
- Notes:
- 11 pages, This study examined village extension agent’s access and use of information and communication technology in extension services delivery to farmers in Plateau State, Nigeria. The population for the study consisted of all the village extension agents (VEAs) of the Plateau Agricultural Development Program (PADP) in the central agricultural zone of the state. Multistage sampling technique was employed in selecting the respondents for the study. Primary data were collected through the administration of questionnaires and interview techniques and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from the study shows that majority (77%) of the sampled village extension agents (VEAs) were males with a mean age of 43 years, Majority (87%) of the respondents were married with a mean household size of 4 persons. The study also showed that majority (80%) of the VEAs had tertiary education with a mean working experience of 13 years and average monthly income of ₦64875. The result also shows that four (4) out of the seven (7) listed ICT facilities were adjudged the ICT facilities accessible to VEAs in the study area having had mean values above the discriminating index (x̅ =2.50). They included; GSM (phone) (x̅ =3.94), radio (x̅ = 2.83), television (x̅ = 2.73) and computer (x̅ = 2.68). Based on 2.50 discriminating index, only two out of seven listed conventional ICT facilities had mean values above the discriminating index (x̅ 2.50) and thus were adjudged the ICT facilities used by VEAs. The GSM (phone) had the highest mean value of 3.62 followed by radio with mean value of 2.54. The logit regression result shows that coefficients of years of working experience and monthly income were significant and positively related to ICT use, while age and complexity in use of ICT were significant and negatively related to ICT use. Major constraints to use of ICT by VEAs includes; lack of administrative support in provision of ICT (87%), lack of in-service training on ICT use (66%), Poor salary/remuneration (64%), lack of awareness of ICT importance in extension (56%) among others. The study recommends intervention, serious synergy, and proactive response on the part of the government, non-governmental organization,s and extension organizations in ICT provision and training of VEAs on ICT use as well as stepping up campaigns on the importance of ICT use in agricultural extension delivery.
3. Building engagement in Facebook: A case study with Utah State University Extension
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Kesler, Kenna R. (author), Hall, Kelsey (author), and Spielmaker, Debra (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-02
- Published:
- United States: New Prairie Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12104
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Applied Communications
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 105, Issue 1
- Notes:
- 24 pgs., In order to stay relevant in an online world, Extension must properly use social networking platforms to effectively reach diverse audiences regarding agricultural and natural resource issues. However, few studies have focused on how Extension uses Facebook to effectively accomplish its goal. This study’s purpose was to explore how Utah State University Extension Sustainability uses Facebook to engage followers. The researchers conducted a quantitative content analysis of 504 messages posted to the USU Extension Sustainability Facebook page. Graphics and links were the most common post characteristics used by the organization. Text-only posts and posts containing videos were utilized the least. Food was the most common area of sustainability discussed on the page. Posts containing videos, shared content, or that tagged other Facebook pages in messages experienced statistically significantly higher user engagement than posts without those characteristics. Posts containing hashtags experienced statistically significantly lower engagement. Neutral sentiment appeared in the majority of posts. Additionally, information seeking was the most dominant communicative function among the posts. Neither the type of sentiment nor communicative functions were significantly connected to engagement. Future research should determine changes in knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behavior as a result of exposure to, and engagement with, the Facebook page. Additionally, a qualitative study determining consumers’ attitudes toward Facebook content can provide a deeper understanding of the audience’s thought processes and content preferences. Page administrators should craft engaging content that builds community among followers.
4. Context Specificity and Time Dependency in Classifying Sub-Saharan Africa Dairy Cattle Farmers for Targeted Extension Farm Advice: The Case of Uganda
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Ahikiriza, Elizabeth (author), Wesana, Joshua (author), Gellynk, Xavier (author), Van Huylenbroeck, Guido (author), and Lawyers, Ludwig (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-07-29
- Published:
- Switzerland: MDPI
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12516
- Journal Title:
- Agriculture
- Journal Title Details:
- 11 (9)
- Notes:
- 6 pages, Despite the huge potential for milk production, interventions to improve productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are barely based on specified farm classifications. This study aimed to develop robust and context-specific farm typologies to guide content of extension farm advice/services in Uganda. From a sample of 482 dairy farmers, we collected data on farmer socio-demographics, farm management practices, ownership of farm tools and facilities, willingness to pay for extension services, milk production, and marketing. Farm typologies were obtained based on principal component and cluster analyses. Thereby, of the three dairy production systems that emerged, small-scale, largely subsistence yet extensive and low productive farms were more prominent (82.6%). Farms that were classified as large-scale, less commercialized yet extensive with modest productive systems were more than the medium-scale commercial farms with intensive and highly productive systems. However, the later were considered to potentially transform dairy farming in Uganda. It was also predicted that the validity of our farm classification may persist until half of the farms have moved between clusters. The study gives new insights on dairy production systems in Uganda, which can be used to organize more targeted research on farmers’ extension needs for facilitating delivery of relevant and effective extension services and designing appropriate extension policies
5. Cooperative Extension and climate change: successful program delivery
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Morris, Hilary L.C. (author), Megalos, Mark A. (author), Vuola, Aaron J. (author), Adams, Damian C. (author), and Monroe, Martha C. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2014-04
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 140 Document Number: D06059
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 52(2) : 2COM3
- Notes:
- 7 pages.
6. Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Oyinbo, Oyakhilomen (author), Chamberlain, Jordan (author), Abdoulaye, Tahirou (author), and Maertens, Miet (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-06-21
- Published:
- United States: Wiley Online
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12539
- Journal Title:
- American Journal fo Agricultural Economics
- Journal Title Details:
- 104 (2)
- Notes:
- 21 pages, Despite decades of investment in agricultural extension, technology adoption among farmers and agricultural productivity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remain slow. Among other shortcomings, extension systems often make recommendations that do not account for price risk or spatial heterogeneity in farmers' growing conditions. However, little is known about the effectiveness of extension approaches for nutrient management that consider these issues. We analyze the impact of farmers' access to site-specific nutrient management recommendations and to information on expected returns, provided through a digital decision support tool, for maize production. We implement a randomized controlled trial among smallholders in the maize belt of northern Nigeria. We use three waves of annual panel data to estimate immediate and longer term effects of two different extension treatments: site-specific recommendations with and without complementary information about variability in output prices and expected returns. We find that site-specific nutrient management recommendations improve fertilizer management practices and maize yields but do not necessarily increase fertilizer use. In addition, we find that recommendations that are accompanied by additional information about variability in expected returns induce larger fertilizer investments that persist beyond the first year. However, the magnitudes of these effects are small: we find only incremental increases in investments and net revenues over two treatment years.
7. Does it matter who advises farmers? Pest management choices with public and private extension
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Wuepper, David (author), Roleff, Nikolaus (author), and Finger, Robert (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-01-01
- Published:
- Switzerland: Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12514
- Journal Title:
- Food Policy
- Journal Title Details:
- 99
- Notes:
- 8 pages, Does it matter whether farmers receive advice on pest management strategies from public or from private (pesticide company affiliated) extension services? We use survey data from 733 Swiss fruit growers who are currently contending with an infestation by an invasive pest, the fruit fly Drosophila Suzukii. We find that farmers who are advised by public extension services are more likely (+9–10%) to use preventive measures (e.g. nets) while farmers who are advised by private extension services are more likely (+8–9%) to use synthetic insecticides. These results are robust to the inclusion of various covariates, ways to cluster standard errors, and inverse probability weighting. We also show that our results are unlikely to be driven by omitted variable bias. Our findings have implications for the current debates on both the ongoing privatization of agricultural extension and concerns regarding negative environmental and health externalities of pesticide use.
8. Evaluating the impact of Cooperative Extension outreach via Twitter
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- O'Neill, Barbara (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2014-10
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 140 Document Number: D06034
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 52(5) : 5TOT1
- Notes:
- 3 pages.
9. Extension Organizational Strengths: A Delphi Analysis
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Lamm, Keven (author), Randall, Nekeisha (author), Lamm, Alexa (author), and Sapp, Rochelle (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-05-01
- Published:
- United States: American Association for Agricultural Education
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12202
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Education
- Journal Title Details:
- Volume 62 - Number 2 - 2021
- Notes:
- Sharing the importance of agriculture, agricultural education, and programmatic efforts through Extension is vital to ensuring policy makers and the general public understand the need for supporting the overall agricultural industry. However, communicatingsuch importance can be challenging without accurate, evidence-based language to describe what makes agricultural initiatives unique and effective. Furthermore, having knowledge of the unique strengths of Extension builds a foundation of resources agricultural staff can use in problem-solving, communication, and education techniques. A Delphi study was conducted to research the unique strengths of University of GeorgiaExtension in an effort to better educate and communicate with local and state stakeholders. Findings resulted in 11 strengths that gained 100% agreement from research respondents. Six thematic categories covering all agreed-upon strengths document strengths in an explicit way that can also help with internal communication and education effortswithin the Extension organization.
10. Extension Professionals’ Attitudes, Self-Efficacy,and Perceptions of Inclusion for 4-H Youth with Disabilities
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Anderson, Callie (author), Niewoehner-Green, Jera (author), and Scheer, Scott (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-06
- Published:
- United States: Routledge
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12494
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Education
- Journal Title Details:
- Volume 62, Issue 3
- Notes:
- 14 pages., The 4-H Youth Development program prohibits all forms of discrimination which includes disability. 4-H Extension professionals provide the essential interface between Extension and the local community to create an inclusive environment for all youth, including those with disabilities, that is welcoming and accessible. Attitudes and self-efficacy for working with youth who have disabilities impact how well 4- H delivers positive youth development programs. The purpose of this study was to determine state-wide 4-H Extension professionals’ attitudes, self-efficacy, and perceptions of inclusion toward youth with disabilities. In addition, the researchers sought to examine their use of a training program to better serve youth with disabilities. All 4-H Extension professionals in Ohio were surveyed (N = 135) with 71 responding (response rate of 53%). Results indicated the attitudes of Extension professionals for accepting of and feeling comfortable around youth with disabilities was overwhelmingly positive. They also perceived that youth with disabilities felt that they were included in 4-H activities. For self-efficacy, 4-H professionals reported they could effectively provide inclusive opportunities for youth with disabilities and adapt their level of instruction, take extra time, and pay attention to the needs of youth with disabilities. However, about a third of the respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that their workload would increase by having youth with disabilities in their organization. The disability training program was used by over three-fourths of the 4-H professionals and helped them to engage with parents to learn more about their children with disabilities. The program also improved accommodations and creating a more inclusive 4-H environment.
- « Previous
- Next »
- 1
- 2
- 3