22 pages., via online journal., The community engagement professional (CEP) plays a critical role in engaging faculty, staff, and students with communities. In order to do this in the most effective way, this essay advocates
for CEPs to become familiar with the Cooperative Extension system and develop competency for engaging Extension personnel, even when those personnel are not a part of the CEP’s home institution. The essay extends the work of Dostilio et al. (2017) on preliminary competencies for the community engagement professional by identifying additional competencies, organized as knowledge, skill, and dispositions, that can help CEPs work with the Cooperative Extension system to maximize engagement opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. This essay also includes ideas for implementing competency training for CEPs. Conclusions include thoughts on preparing the community engagement professional to learn and collaborate with Cooperative Extension to enrich the academic experience and benefit the communities they serve.
8 pages., The present study was conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)-Pakistan. Three districts were randomly selected from zone C i.e. Peshawar, Swabi and Mardan with the objective to investigate the information sources of extension agents, views of extension agents on adoption constraints and the extension methods used by them. All agricultural officers and 40% of field assistants were interviewed making a sample of 81 extension agents; 10 agricultural officers and 71 field assistants. The study results indicate that 77% field assistants were educated up to Matric with two years diploma while 10% agricultural officers had M.Sc. (Hons) degree with the majority of extension agents having job experience of more than 20 years. The main sources of information for the majority (79%) of extension agents were extension publications and training. Extension agents viewed that poverty (49%), expensive inputs (21%) and illiteracy (16%) were the main adoption constraints faced by farmers. Majority (86%) extension agents reported that the extension services are farmer friendly. The most appropriate teaching methods were group meetings (38%) and method demonstration (24%), while the most frequently used method for farmers contact was individual contact method (63%) as identified by extension agents. Non- significant association exist between diffusion of improved practices with adoption constraints and best teaching method used, while significant association exist with frequently used contact method. It is recommended that necessary inputs on subsidised rates should be provided to extension agents to make extension services more farmers friendly.
5 pages., September-November issue via online., Digitalisation is improving the agricultural extension system by providing services at the right time, and facilitating adoption of new agronomic practices, resulting in yield improvements and higher incomes for farming households.
14 pages., his paper evaluates the effect of the Rural Capacity Building Project (RCBP),
which aimed at promoting growth by strengthening the agricultural service systems
in Ethiopia, and by making them more responsive to smallholders’ needs, in particular women farmers. We examine the gender-differentiated impact of the RCBP
using panel data on 1,485 geographically dispersed households in project and control
kebeles. We find that women farmers’ access and satisfaction with extension services
increased significantly immediately after the start of the project, but that effect did
not last into the medium term. The project led to an increase in the adoption of high-
value crop farming, area of land cultivated, and economic participation of household
members, benefiting male- and female-headed households equally. Results point to
the positive impact of incorporating women’s needs and constraints in the design of
the agricultural extension system. However, the project was not able to reduce the
preexisting gender gap in agricultural outcomes.
