12 pages., Via online journal., Rural Resources Centers (RRCs) managed by community-based organisations, where farmers come together for training and demonstration, have been an innovative extension approach in Cameroon since 2006. This paper describes information flow in RRCs and farmers’ assessment of RRCs as information sources. All the RRCs in Cameroon were studied and 29 group interviews, involving 118 producers and 7 individual interviews with RRC managers, were performed. RRCs share information with several stakeholders including farmers, research institutions, and educational and religious institutions; and interpersonal channels are commonly used. Farmers and agricultural extension workers are the most important sources of information for RRCs. Farmers rank RRCs as their second best sources of information after fellow farmers. On average, each year, RRCs organise at least 40 training sessions for about 1777 participants. The themes are mainly agroforestry (29%), marketing (20%), group dynamics (20%) and post-harvest techniques (11%). The issue of funding the activities of the RRCs needs to be addressed, they need to be better structured, and their human resources increased and strengthened.
14 pages., via online journal,, Effective agricultural extension is key to improving productivity, increasing farmers’ access to information, and promoting more diverse sets of crops and improved methods of cultivation. In India, however, the coverage of agricultural extension workers and the relevance of extension advice is poor. We investigate whether a women's self‐help group (SHG) platform could be an effective way of improving access to information, women's empowerment in agriculture, agricultural practices, and production diversity. We use cross‐sectional data on close to 1,000 women from five states in India and employ nearest‐neighbor matching models to match SHG and non‐SHG women along a range of observed characteristics. We find that participation in an SHG increases women's access to information and their participation in some agricultural decisions, but has limited impact on agricultural practices or outcomes, possibly due to financial constraints, social norms, and women's domestic responsibilities. SHGs need to go beyond provision of information to changing the dynamics around women's participation in agriculture to effectively translate knowledge into practice.
Van Winsen, Frankwin (author), de May, Yann (author), Lauwers, Ludwig (author), Van Passel, Steven (author), Vancauteren, Mark (author), and Wauters, Erwin (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2013-11
Published:
Belgium: Elsevier
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 160 Document Number: D07802
Sabiescu, Amalia (author) and Centre for Community Networking Research, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
2009-11-04
Published:
Romania
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 178 Document Number: C35684
Notes:
Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN) Conference 2009, Prato, Italy, November 4-6, 2009. 14 pages., Exploring potentials for using digital storytelling to safeguard endangered cultures.
Cox, Rosie (author), Holloway, Lewis (author), Venn, Laura (author), Dowler, Liz (author), Hein, Jane Ricketts (author), Kneafsey, Moya (author), and Tuomainen, Helen (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2008
Published:
England
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 161 Document Number: D07823
