12 pages., via online journal., In recent years, there has been extensive investment in e-governance throughout the developing world. Still, little is known about the impact of those investments, partly due to a lack of assessment guidance. In this study modified sustainable livelihood framework approach was used for studying impact of the project on farmers. Before and after data was collected from the registered farmers using recall method to assess the impact of the project on all five types of capital (Natural capital, financial capital, human capital, physical capital and social capital). It was found that after implementation of the project, in the category of natural capital, average production and average sold quantity of rice, wheat, pigeon pea, mustard, and green gram has been significantly increased and in the category of financial capital, respondents’ average family income, earning from agriculture and allied sector and benefit from government schemes has been significantly increased and in the category of human capital, average number of training received by respondents and average number of extension contacts made by respondents has been significantly increased and in the category of physical capital, average storage facility has been increased by respondents and in the category of social capital, average number of meetings attended by respondents in Krishi Gyan Kendra has been significantly increased.
2 pages., Via UI online subscription., Purpose: This paper examines extension practises of agricultural workers within the Egyptian government and the perceived barriers they face in implementing participatory approaches, identifying improvements required in research and extension processes to meet the real needs of Egyptian farming communities.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Key barriers for engaging in participatory extension were identified using content analysis of semi-structured interviews, surveys and focus group discussion of 37 government agricultural workers along with participant observation and review of existing literature.
Findings: The majority of workers surveyed understood basic participatory extension principles and desired to use these approaches. Changing from traditional ‘top down’ extension to systems that engage with farmers' needs at the community level is made difficult due to the aging and poorly functioning Village Extension Worker (VEW) network. Thus, it is far easier for the research driven extension programmes to use technology transfer models.
Practical Implications: Participatory extension relies on strong relationship building and open communication between farmers, extension workers, researchers, interest groups and policy-makers. The Egyptian government must properly establish and resource the pivotal role of VEWs within the extension system to meet its strategic aims of modernising agriculture, developing food security and improving the livelihoods of rural inhabitants.
Originality/Value: This paper captures the unique perspectives of government research, extension and education workers involved in agricultural development at a time directly after the 2010 revolution, when they were able to more openly reflect on the past and present situations.
Conference paper / journal article, The paper focused on COVID-19 pandemic, its implication on the Nigeria agriculture and the role of extension. The review uncovered a subtle but undeniable negative impact on all the value chain of the Nigeria agriculture. One of the most important factors that may avert this negative impact is agricultural extension service. With lockdown, travel ban and social distancing, the way out becomes technology. Government and institutions at all levels should intentionally deploy technology tools to aid effective agricultural extension service to farmers.
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.
Personal interviews with 336 small-acreage sugarcane growers indicated that less than half had any knowledge of the public extension services available. Growers who were aware of extension services and sought information from extension achieved substantially higher average yields than growers who did not. Authors recommended that the Pakistan government review current extension services and consider strengthening them.
15 pages, Climate change poses several challenges worldwide, including the increase in severity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts. As a result, there are projected environmental, economic and social impacts in several sectors, including agriculture. However, the extent of climatic impacts depends on farmers’ awareness and their capacity for adaptation in response to changes in the climate. This study analyzes the factors that influence farmers’ perception of climate change. Data were collected from a farm-household survey in the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Using a logistic regression model, we identified that farm size, support of extension workers, number of conservation practices adopted, and ecocentrism value influenced positively the perception. Moreover, we found that farm size relied on government actions, subsidies, and anthropocentric value was affected negatively. These findings showed that socioeconomic and psychological factors shape farmers’ perception of climate change. Extension workers and policymakers should increase farmers' awareness on climate change improving the communication on the nature importance for the ecosystem as a whole (ecocentrism) and/or explaining the importance of nature for human welfare (anthropocentrism).
