6 pages., via online journal., This research was conducted to find out the influence of agents on the results of empowerment of farmers, the effect of recipients on the results of the farmer empowerment, the effect of agricultural extension on the results of the farmer empowerment, and the influence of agents, recipients, and agricultural extension on the results of farmer empowerment. This research was carried out in May to July 2017. Quantitative descriptive method was applied by using primary and secondary data. Primary data obtained from interviews with 24 respondents who applied integrated crop management technology (PTT) on paddy fields. Technique of interview was guided with questionnaires while secondary data was taken from some literature work and relevant agencies. The results showed that: there is positive and significant influence between the agents and farmer empowerment, there is positive and significant influence between the recipients on the farmer empowerment, there is positive and significant influence between agricultural extension on the results of the farmer empowerment, and there is positive and significant influence between the agents, recipients, and agricultural extension on the results of farmer empowerment.
Toepfer, Stefan (author), Kuhlmann, Ulrich (author), Kansiime, Monica (author), Onyango Owino, David (author), Tamsin, Davis (author), Cameron, Katherine (author), and Day, Roger (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-04
Published:
Germany: Springer
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 12 Document Number: D10360
4 pages., Via online journal., This is an opinion paper to the perspective paper “The spread of the Fall Army Worm Spodoptera frugiperda in Africa—what should be done next?” from the “Section Plant Protection in the Tropics and Subtropics” at the 61st German Congress of Plant Protection, held at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, on 11 September 2018. It highlights the best approaches in communication, information sharing, and advisory services to raise awareness for fall armyworm detection and area-wide management by farmers.
16 pages., Article # 6FEA3, via online journal., We examined how the Twin Ports Climate Conversations (TPCC), a community-based climate communication project, is influencing local climate awareness and response. A survey of TPCC participants and subsequent roundtable discussion event were used to explore program impacts, outcomes, and future directions. Results showed that the TPCC project has been effective at increasing awareness and facilitating contacts and may be leading to actions that range from information sharing to personal behavioral changes. Future directions include engaging new audiences and promoting more on-the-ground climate action. TPCC can serve as a model to help other communities start cross-sectoral climate conversations.
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
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.
13 pages., Article #:v58-1a2, via online journal., According to the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, without urgent global changes, climate catastrophe caused by warming of greater than 1.5°C will occur by 2030, endangering the planet's capacity to sustain human populations and livelihoods. The National Network for Sustainable Living Education administered a national survey in January 2017 to assess how well-positioned Extension is to address sustainability in the communities the organization serves. Educators from 40 states responded, and 1,395 usable surveys were received. Survey results will help Extension employees discover opportunities for innovation and relevancy in their programming.
13 pages., Via online journal., Based on research-to-policy narratives provided by UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) academics, we argue that current, effective Cooperative Extension (Extension) practices support a broader, more convincing account of Extension's public value than its leaders often articulate. This proposed account incorporates the familiar Extension narrative in which technical expertise and objectivity are emphasized. It also incorporates the insight, derived from our data, that Extension can achieve its greatest relevance in policy circles when it weaves together its ability to provide trustworthy technical knowledge with its capacity to influence policy dialogue, debate and practice across multiple settings and over the long term. In a policy world often marked by short-term thinking and polarization, Extension's ability to foster deliberative, context-sensitive and future-oriented policymaking is a critical contribution to society. Interview data reveals three approaches to effective policy-oriented relationship building: community-government partnership building; stakeholder-oriented experimental research; and community empowerment. Understanding these approaches can help reframe the story that we in the Extension system tell ourselves and the public about the public value we create.
4 pages., Article # 6COM1, via online journal., To develop more inclusive programs, Extension professionals should attend to self-awareness, communication, and program structure. We suggest engaging in reflection and examining word choices and program decisions to make programs more welcoming to all members of the communities we serve. Extension professionals should incorporate these practices in their work to meet the needs of increasingly diverse communities.
Goerlich, Daniel L. (author), Munsell, John F. (author), Boyd, Heather H. (author), Moeltner, Klaus (author), and Virginia Cooperative Extension
Virginia Tech
University of Notre Dame
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-12
Published:
United States: Extension Journal, Inc.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11233
5 pages, via online journal, Cooperative Extension produces public value through educational programming that benefits the greater community. Forests provide numerous valuable benefits to society through the provision of ecosystem services. Cooperative Extension educational programming positively affects forest owners, who, in turn, conduct actions that enhance ecosystem services. An understudied relationship exists between Cooperative Extension and ecosystem services that can be drawn on to document Extension's public value. Applying ecosystem services values to Extension natural resources–related programmatic outcomes through benefit transfer provides an avenue through which Extension can potentially make significant advancements in monetizing its public value.
6 pages., Article # 1IAW7, Via online journal., A 6-hr train-the-trainer workshop focused on introducing the concept that insects may play a significant role in food security as the world population is projected to exceed 9 billion people by the mid 21st century. Workshop topics including cultural, nutritional, culinary, and commercial aspects surrounding edible insects were presented and packaged into a formal curriculum for later use by the participants. A 12-item sensory evaluation of insect-fortified foods provided participants a tangible experience with product palatability. By the end of the workshop, participants had increased various dimensions of their knowledge about edible insects and reported a generally positive perception toward insect-based foods.
