8 pages, The role of information in agricultural development cannot be overemphasized, as information is vital in increasing production, improving marketing and enhancing distribution strategies. Therefore, the study examined the impact of information communication technologies on the technical efficiency of fish farming in Ogun State, Nigeria using a stochastic production frontier approach. In a cross-sectional survey, a multi-stage sampling technique was employed to elicit primary information from 120 fish farmers. Major ICT sources used by the fish farmers include television (81.7%), radio (79.2%) and the Internet (68.3%). The average output of catfish has positive and significant elasticity with regards to each input variable except family labour. The inefficiency model revealed that the age of farmers, farming experience, television and radio usage were significant but negatively related. That means that any increase in any of these factors will reduce the inefficiency of fish farmers and bring about an increase in technical efficiency. This implies that it is possible to increase technical efficiency in fish farming in the study area provided that the media channel (radio and television) predominantly used is improved. This study recommends a reduction in family labour usage while at the same time encouraging young people to venture into fish farming.
15 pages., via online journal., Recent European policy highlights the need to promote local fishery and aquaculture by means of innovation and joint participation in fishery management as one of the keys to achieve the sustainability of our seas. However, the implicit assumptions held by the actors in the two main groups involved – innovators (scientists, businessmen and administration managers) and local fishermen – can complicate, perhaps even render impossible, mutual understanding and co-operation. A qualitative analysis of interviews with members of both groups in the Valencian Community (Spain) reveals those latent assumptions and their impact on the respective practices. The analysis shows that the innovation narrative in which one group is based and the inventions narrative used by the other one are rooted in two dramatically different, or even antagonistic, collective worldviews. Any environmental policy that implies these groups should take into account these strong discords.
Using two samples of U.S. adults (Study 1: N = 336; Study 2: N = 2329), this study features a messaging experiment utilizing a between-subjects design, with a no-message control group, to explore the impact of a narrative video, in comparison to an infographic video, on support for sustainable aquaculture. Results indicate that the infographic video type is more transporting than the narrative video, and that transportation influences support for aquaculture indirectly through emotional response, as well as risk and benefit perceptions; however, importantly, we also note that video content may have contributed to the observed differences. For an emerging issue like aquaculture with environmental and human health implications, strategic messaging, especially when accompanied by vivid images, may allow audiences to better engage with a complex and contentious topic.
11 pages., via online journal., Fish farmers need to take into account many factors, including climate-related risks, when making decisions to invest in stocking ponds or cages in rivers. Officials, experts, and other fish farmers try to influence these decisions by communicating information about risks verbally or using text messages. Recurrent mass mortality events associated with droughts and floods suggest some communication efforts have been ineffective. Theories of risk communication make different predictions about what elements make messages influential. The purpose of this study was to improve understanding of the potential influence of inserting tactical messages into a communication text on the decision behavior of fish farmers with respect to climate-related risks. Experiments were carried out on hand-held tablets with 1050 fish farmers as subjects. Fish farmers were asked to imagine they faced a risk of drought, water shortage, flood, or increasing risks of drought in a drying climate. They were also given a plausible response measure that would require some investment, and then asked to indicate how likely they would adopt that measure. Farmers’ intentions to take risk reduction actions in long-term adaptation increased when the message they received re-affirmed that they were susceptible to the threat, an impact was likely or that the response to the risk was an effective measure. For shorter-term risk reduction measures, the effect of re-affirming response efficacy was to suppress intentions to act. This study found no evidence that appeals to fear, guilt, or anxiety emotions work; references to social norms, behavioral control, and benefit versus cost arguments also failed to increase intentions to act. The findings of this study supported some propositions of common risk communication theories but not others. The methods and findings are useful for improving the design of communications aimed at informing farmers about climate-related risks.
