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2. Agricultural extension, rural development, and the food security challenge
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Rivera, William McLeod (author)
- Format:
- Book
- Publication Date:
- unknown
- Published:
- USA: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C26906
- Notes:
- Published in 2003.
3. Construction and validation of a psychometric scale to assess extension agents’ beliefs about extension and innovation
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Landini, Fernando (author), Beramendi, Maite (author), and University of La Cuenca del Plata Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) School of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-07-24
- Published:
- Argentina: Taylor and Francis
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 101 Document Number: D10880
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 25(5) : 318-399
- Notes:
- 18 pages, online journal article, Purpose This article aims at designing and validating a psychometric scale to assess extensionists’ and advisors’ beliefs about extension and innovation. Design/Methodology/approach The scale was developed by drawing upon results from a previous empirical research as well as insights from a literature review on extension and innovation approaches. The theoretical framework used to write the items was validated by 12 international experts from 11 countries. 608 Argentine extension workers completed the questionnaire. Replies were analysed using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Findings The scale has a good fit and satisfactory level of internal consistency. Five factors were identified: Dialogue and horizontal coordination; Transfer of technology; Blame on farmers; Participatory, farmer-led extension; and Self-critical attitude. Practical implications The scale has multiple and different uses, including research, theory development, institutional practice, diagnosis, and teaching. Theoretical implications Results show that a horizontal, facilitative extension approach shares a common epistemology, as well as underlying values and assumptions, with territorial development and with an innovation systems perspective, and that both contrast with a traditional transfer of technology approach. Nonetheless, practitioners would not tend to see these two contrasting perspectives as contradictory but as complementary. Originality/Value The scale is the first validated psychometric instrument, based on an ample theoretical framework, that allows for a quantitative assessment of beliefs about extension and innovation.
4. Contributions to group work and to the management of collective processes in extension and rural development
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Landini, Fernando (author), Bianqui, Vanina (author), Vargas, Gilda (author), Inés Mathot y Rebolé, María (author), Martinez, Manuela (author), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina National Council of Scientific and Technological Research, Argentina University of La Cuenca del Plata, Argentina University of Morón, Argentina University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2017-10-07
- Published:
- Argentina: Science Direct
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 106 Document Number: D10934
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Rural Studies
- Journal Title Details:
- 56(2017) : 143-155
- Notes:
- 12 pages, via online journal, Working with farmers' groups, associations and cooperatives constitutes a fundamental element of extension work with family farmers. Despite the fact that extension practitioners face many problems in this area of their work, there is currently a lack of academic literature that systematically addresses the topic and offers concrete guidelines for practice. Thus, this paper will aim to clarify the benefits of farmers' groups, associations and networks within the context of family farming, systematise problems faced by rural extensionists when working with farmers' groups and associations, provide conceptual tools for understanding group and associative processes, and construct a set of guidelines and recommendations for facing said problems. In order to achieve these aims, the authors conducted an extensive literature review and drew upon their personal experience on the topic. Results suggest that some of the benefits of associative work are: better access to inputs, produce and credit markets, the facilitation of learning processes, the empowerment of family farmers as social actors, and a reduction of rural extension costs. Additionally, with respects to the problems faced by extensionists, the following can be highlighted: individualist attitudes and conflicts between farmers, scarce participation and commitment, problems with leaderships and with organisations' administrative management, and the lack of extensionists' training to address these processes, among others. With regards to the factors that increase trust and cooperation are: interpersonal communication and mutual knowledge, sharing problems, values and objectives, and the existence of shared rules for the functioning of the group that include sanctions for transgressors. In this context, the extensionists' role will be that of facilitating processes of construction of group relationships, creating rules for the groups' functioning and developing the group's capacities for self-management.
5. Development and validation of the international extension network advocacy capacity scale
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Lamm, Kevan W. (author), Lamm, Alexa (author), Davis, Kristin E. (author), Dobbins, Catherine (author), and Powell, Alyssa (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-12-29
- Published:
- USA: New Prairie Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12684
- Journal Title:
- Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 28, Iss. 5
- Notes:
- 24 pages, Extension is sometimes viewed globally as less important than academic research and innovation, even though these networks are crucial to agricultural development. Using Lewin’s (1947) organizational change theory as a conceptual background, an instrument to measure advocacy capacity within international extension networks was developed. The resulting scale was analyzed for content validity, response process validity, internal structure validity, and consequential validity. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the proposed scale. The underlying structure of the scale was found to load onto five factors. The five extracted factors were labelled: 1) network support of advocacy, 2) network integration of advocacy, 3) network influence in advocacy, 4) network visibility in advocacy, and 5) network advocacy performance. The overall International Extension Network Advocacy Capacity (IENAC) scale, and associated subscales were all found to have acceptable levels of validity.
6. Facilitators and barriers to farmers’ market use in a rural area
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Jarvandi, Soghra (author), Johnson, Kristen (author), and Franck, Karen (author)
- Format:
- Journal Article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-06-16
- Published:
- United States: Clemson University Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12614
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- V. 60 Iss. 2
- Notes:
- 7 pgs, Farmers’ markets may improve access to healthful foods in rural areas. Our objective was to identify facilitators and barriers to farmers’ market use in a rural county. We collected data via surveys, focus group sessions, and key informant interviews. Study participants identified the two existing farmers’ markets as community assets. Barriers to use farmers’ markets included inconvenient market hours, not accepting nutrition assistance program benefits, limited transportation, and limited variety. Interventions to improve food access should include ways to meet the needs of specific populations such as low-income residents and residents living in outlying areas without farmers’ markets.
7. Use of information and communication technologies by Vietnamese smallholders: Implications for extension strategies
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Hoang, Hung Gia (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-02-18
- Published:
- International: SAGE Journals
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12212
- Journal Title:
- Information Development
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol.37(2)
- Notes:
- 9 pages., In order to facilitate the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for accessing agricultural information by smallholders, it is critical to understand their perspectives on the use of ICT. However, few empirical studies have considered how smallholders utilise ICT in Central Vietnam. This research investigates the Central Vietnamese smallholders’ views on the extent of use of ICT for accessing agricultural information. A sample size of 250 smallholders was randomly selected from a total of 687 smallholders in Trieu Phong district, Central Vietnam. A two-section questionnaire was used to gather data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The smallholders used mobile phones, TV and radio networks/broadcasts as the common ICT tools, and these were also effective ICT tools for accessing agricultural information. Lack of knowledge and skills for using applications on mobile phones were the main challenge to the smallholders’ use of ICT. A statistically significant relationship, existing between the extent of mobile phone use and the smallholders’ age (χ = 10.04, p = 0.040), gender (χ = 5.99, p = 0.014) and the type of households (χ = 6.84, p = 0.033), was found. Similarly, there was a statistically significant relationship existing between the extent of radio network/broadcast use and the smallholders’ age (χ = 9.58, p = 0.048) and gender (χ = 4.83, p = 0.028).
8. Utilisation of mobile phones in accessing agricultural information by smallholder farmers in Dzindi Irrigation Scheme in South Africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Holmner, Marlene (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021
- Published:
- International: African Journals Online
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12100
- Journal Title:
- African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 29 No. 1
- Notes:
- 21 pgs., CTs (Communications technologies) have revolutionized agricultural information services at every level in the agricultural sector, thus impacting rural development and catalysing poverty alleviation strategies. This has largely been the case with small-scale farmers in rural areas in developing countries where mobile technologies have penetrated more than most other ICT tools. However, in some of the farming environments, mobile phone use is largely driven by agricultural extension workers. This paper seeks to examine the way mobile phones are used for information access in situations where agricultural extension workers are a critical intermediary in the agricultural information services. Interviews were conducted with 10 randomly selected farmers who were part of the Dzindi irrigation scheme. The findings were that from the variety of information available to the farmers the most important source was the extension officer. The extension officer and the radio were indicated to be the most reliable independent sources of information. The other sources, such as the radio, family members, and friends, suppliers of chemicals, books and magazines, were only considered reliable if the information could be verified or vouched for by the extension officer. Increasing the information handling skills of extension officers, training of farmers to use smart features of their phones and promoting the usual face-to-face communication use of conventional methods, which is what usually gives rise to the mediation of mobile phones, were recommended.