10 pages, The study was focused on identifying sources of agricultural information and analyzing challenges faced by smallholder farmers in accessing agricultural information in Southern Ethiopia. To achieve the stated objectives the study district was selected purposively from Wolaita zone by selecting five kebeles randomly. At the end, a total of 150 sample households were randomly selected from these five kebeles. To collect the data both primary and secondary sources were used for the purpose of this study. Primary data were collected directly from sample respondents through structured and semi-structured interview schedules, observation and focus group discussions. Secondary data were collected from Woreda agriculture and rural development office report, and other relevant books, journal articles and the Internet. After the relevant data were collected, the descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, and percentage, and the inferential statistics such as chi-square tests were also used. The findings indicate that female farmers, illiteracy, location of market center, information seeking behavior of farmers, low rate of extension-farmers linkages, inadequate operational skill of aids, language barriers, lack of training, lack of rural electrification, lack of development agents, absence of rural networks, inadequate reading materials, and inappropriate time of broadcasting are the main challenges smallholder farmers were faced with. Therefore, to overcome the challenges strong commitment and reformation should be done in the study area by the concerned stakeholders.
Vigne Bennedetti, Luiza (author), Antônio de Almeida Sinisgalli, Paulo (author), Lamano Ferreira, Maurício (author), and Lemes de Oliveira, Fabiano (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2023-01-24
Published:
Netherlands: MDPI
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12839
14pgs, Urban agriculture (UA) can be used as an action to promote sustainability in cities and inform public health policies for urban populations. Despite this growing recognition, its implementation still presents challenges in countries in the Global North and Global South. Background: In this context, this systematic review aims to identify the development of frameworks for the implementation of UA as a sustainable action and its main opportunities and shortcomings in meeting urban socio-environmental demands. Methods: In this review, using the PRISMA protocol, we evaluated 26 studies on the interplay between UA and sustainability surveyed on the Web of Science to provide an overview of the state of the art. Conclusions: In summary, it was possible to identify many key challenges in UA adoption, which regard air and soil contamination, availability of green areas, layout of urban infrastructure, food distribution, among others. Due to numerous socio-economic and environmental contextual factors in cities, especially when comparing realities of the Global North and Global South, there is a need to develop a model that can be adaptable to these different contexts. Thus, it is recognized that the concept of sustainability does not present a universal understanding and that in its search it could be argued that one of the most important gaps is still to address social issues in relation to environmental ones.
16 pages, Applying sustainable horticulture as an innovation in The Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) Indonesia can be a commendable example in agricultural extension education. Previous research has revealed that understanding farmers' perceptions of innovation is essential for appropriate interventions to change their behavior. In DIY, the surveys were conducted in 2016 with 257 males and 93 females of farmers groups member from 21 villages in Sleman, Bantul, and Kulonprogo Regency. The objective of the survey was to determine the effects of farmer's internal factors on the perception of ecological, social economy, and ethical (ESE) urgency as a component of sustainable horticulture practices. The findings from the ecological, social, and ethical dimensions among the farming community in DIY indicated that, directly and indirectly, the farmers can acknowledge and practice sustainable horticulture. However, this was altering several factors, most notably, motivation and the prospect of increased income. The important thing in extension work was motivation, and a major motivating factor was the possibility of increased agricultural income. This study suggests that extension education of achieving horticultural sustainability in DIY should be based on the motivation of farmers and thoughtfulness of their basic needs especially needs to have higher income.
17 pages., This study examined the effectiveness of the channels used to deliver agricultural information and knowledge to smallholder farmers in Tanzania. A descriptive cross-sectional design alongside quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to collect data from 341 respondents. While the data collected through the questionnaire was analysed by using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 21, the data collected through the interview was analysed by using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that delivery of and access to timely and relevant agricultural information and knowledge, appropriately packaged, is one of the critical problems undermining smallholder farmers’ efforts to increase their production. As a result, most smallholder farmers mainly depend on informal channels. Besides informal channels, farmer groups and demonstration plots are becoming popular channels to deliver and access agricultural information and knowledge. To make a difference in agricultural production, deliberate efforts should be made to enhance the delivery of agricultural information and knowledge.
22 pages, The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic characteristics, career motivations, and professional development of American equine journalists. An online survey was distributed to equine journalists identified through their professional organizational membership. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Equine journalists were found to be predominately female, Caucasian, and averaged 53 years old. Nearly half were exposed to the equine industry prior to their career and have been working in the industry for over 15 years. Respondents were well educated and were most motivated towards their career as an equine journalist because of their interest in horses. Over 70% of equine journalists in this study participated in one to 10 professional developments in the last year, with social media management as the most frequently reported topic. Other frequently reported topics were marketing, journalistic writing, and magazine publication. Recommendations for practice include recruiting agricultural communications minor or certificate students from specialized programs such as animal science, equine science, equine studies, or livestock. Future research should consider the influence of pre-career experiences on equine journalist career motivations and skill development.
Carmenta, Rachel (author), Coomes, David A. (author), DeClerck, Fabrice A.J. (author), Hart, Abigail K. (author), Harvey, Celia A. (author), Milder, Jeff (author), Reed, James (author), Vira, Bhaskar (author), and Estrada-Carmona, Natalia (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: D11357
Online via open access., Researchers gathered survey data on 104 integrated landscape initiatives (ILIs) within Latin America and the Caribbean jurisdictions of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Findings suggested four distinct strategies existed, two of which were only weakly integrated and another two of which were more ambitiously attempting integration, engaging more sectors and scales of governance, and targeting the structural barriers to sustainability.
