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2. Factors influencing smallholder farmers to participate in farmer-led research of agro-ecological practices in selected areas, Tanzania
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Kihoma, Luambano (author), Churi, Ayubu J. (author), Sanga, Camilius A. (author), and Tisselli, Eugenio (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-10-22
- Published:
- International: Academic Journals
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12336
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol.13(4)
- Notes:
- 11 pages., Declining crop productivity is a great challenge facing smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Agro-ecological practices can improve crop productivity in a sustainable way and produce healthy food among smallholder farmers. Initiation of “Farmer-Led Research of Agro-Ecological Practices” (FLRAG) may enhance farmers’ capacities for innovation and co-develop suitable agro-ecological practices. This study aimed at identifying factors influencing smallholder farmers to participate in FLRAG. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 90 smallholder farmers in Mvomero, Bagamoyo and Masasi districts in Tanzania. Data were also collected from key informants who were extension officers. The study identified that experience in farming, easiness in accessing agro-ecological inputs, interest in doing experiments and farm size ownership are the factors that substantially influence smallholder farmers to participate in FLRAG. Therefore, researchers are advised to select participants of FLRAG by considering the mentioned factors. Furthermore, farmers selected to participate in FLRAG are advised to the use of ugunduzi app” that was developed purposefully to enhance agro-ecological research in order to test and understand its potential on smoothing agro-ecological research activities.
3. GeoFarmer: a monitoring and feedback system for agricultural development projects
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Eitzinger, Anton (author), Cock, James (author), Atzmanstorfer, Karl (author), Binder, Claudia R. (author), Läderach, Peter (author), Bonilla-Findji, Osana (author), Bartlin, Mona (author), Mwongera, Caroline (author), Zurita, Leo (author), and Jarvis, Andy (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-03
- Published:
- Germany: Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 7 Document Number: D10292
- Journal Title:
- Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
- Journal Title Details:
- 158 : 109-121
- Notes:
- 13 pages., Via online journal., Farmers can manage their crops and farms better if they can communicate their experiences, both positive and negative, with each other and with experts. Digital agriculture using internet communication technology (ICT) may facilitate the sharing of experiences between farmers themselves and with experts and others interested in agriculture. ICT approaches in agriculture are, however, still out of the reach of many farmers. The reasons are lack of connectivity, missing capacity building and poor usability of ICT applications. We decided to tackle this problem through cost-effective, easy to use ICT approaches, based on infrastructure and services currently available to small-scale producers in developing areas. Working through a participatory design approach, we developed and tested a novel technology. GeoFarmer provides near real-time, two-way data flows that support processes of co-innovation in agricultural development projects. It can be used as a cost-effective ICT-based platform to monitor agricultural production systems with interactive feedback between the users, within pre-defined geographical domains. We tested GeoFarmer in four geographic domains associated with ongoing agricultural development projects in East and West Africa and Latin America. We demonstrate that GeoFarmer is a cost-effective means of providing and sharing opportune indicators of on-farm performance. It is a potentially useful tool that farmers and agricultural practitioners can use to manage their crops and farms better, reduce risk, increase productivity and improve their livelihoods.
4. Going digital in agriculture: how radio and SMS can scale-up smallholder participation in legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification practices and technologies in Tanzania
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Silvestri, Silvia (author), Richard, Musebe (author), Edward, Baars (author), Dharmesh, Ganatra (author), and Dannie, Romney (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-04-14
- Published:
- International: Taylor & Francis
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D12505
- Journal Title:
- International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
- Journal Title Details:
- 19
- Notes:
- 11 pages., In 2016, a study was conducted in Tanzania to assess the impact of radio and SMS in scaling-up smallholder participation in legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) practices and technologies. The study aimed to answer the following research questions: (i) does participation in the campaign enhance farmers’ knowledge of legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification practices and technologies? (ii) what is the impact of the campaign on the adoption of legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification practices and technologies?; (iii) does exposure to multiple ICT-enabled channels result in larger gains (in terms of knowledge and adoption) than exposure to only one channel? (iv) is it more cost-effective to use radio or SMS alone or use them in combination? The results show that both awareness and adoption are boosted if SMS supports radio campaigns. However, radio alone is the most cost-effective approach. Each dollar spent on the radio campaign results in 2.1 farmers that have adopted at least one new practice, compared with 0.5 farmers for SMS and 0.4 farmers for radio and SMS combined. Other factors were also important in facilitating uptake of legume-based SAI practices, such as gender, age, education and land size, but were not statistically significant when rated against the communication channels used.
5. Impact of climate change on sustainable pastoral livelihoods in Loima Sub-County, Turkana County, Kenya
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Imana, C.A. (author) and Zenda, M. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2023-05-06
- Published:
- South Africa: African Journals Online
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12927
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Agricultural Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 51, N.1
- Notes:
- 21 pages, Climate change and variability have adversely affected communities’ pastoral livelihoods in Kenya. The study aimed to investigate sustaining pastoral livelihoods in a changing climate in Loima Sub-County, Turkana County, Kenya. A total of 59 pastoralists were interviewed using a questionnaire. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software Version 22. SPSS employed descriptive statistical techniques like frequencies, percentages, cross-tabulations and proportions, means, and standard deviation. Pie charts, graphs, figures, and tables were used to present the data analysis output. Climate has been observed to vary continuously by pastoralists. Climate hazards mostly reported were livestock diseases and the frequency of droughts. The findings also indicated that livestock keepers preferred to graze their livestock on mountains/hills. Pasture and water availability and security determine the pattern of livestock movement. Pastoralists adopted various strategies to cope with climatic changes. Some of these strategies included diverse utilisation of livestock products, controlled grazing, herd diversification, and labour distribution among household members. In conclusion, climatic change and variability effects on the livelihoods of the pastoralists are evident. However, they have diversified ways of adapting and coping with these catastrophes to sustain themselves. To avert the effects of climate change, Turkana agriculture extension officers should focus on value addition to livestock products, provision of livestock insurance schemes, veterinary services, and livestock disease surveillance. Furthermore, agriculture extension needs to develop and enforce livestock policies and develop appropriate contingency plans. Among the policies recommended are- the management of grazing areas, regulations on migratory routes, and rules governing the use of water sources.
6. Review of building a resilient and sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Mkuna, Eliaza (author)
- Format:
- Book review
- Publication Date:
- 2022-09-01
- Published:
- UK: Taylor and Francis
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12874
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Information
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 0, N.0
- Notes:
- 2 pages
7. The Revolution of Mobile Phone-Enabled Services for Agricultural Development (m-Agri Services) in Africa: The Challenges for Sustainability
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Emeana, Ezinne M. (author), Trenchard, Liz (author), and Dehnen-Schmutz, Katharina (author)
- Format:
- unknown
- Publication Date:
- 2020-02
- Published:
- 2020-01-09: MDPI
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12211
- Journal Title:
- Sustainability
- Journal Title Details:
- 2020, 12(2)
- Notes:
- 27 pages., The provision of information through mobile phone-enabled agricultural information services (m-Agri services) has the potential to revolutionise agriculture and significantly improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Africa. Globally, the benefits of m-Agri services include facilitating farmers’ access to financial services and sourcing agricultural information about input use, practices, and market prices. There are very few published literature sources that focus on the potential benefits of m-Agri services in Africa and none of which explore their sustainability. This study, therefore, explores the evolution, provision, and sustainability of these m-Agri services in Africa. An overview of the current landscape of m-Agri services in Africa is provided and this illustrates how varied these services are in design, content, and quality. Key findings from the exploratory literature review reveal that services are highly likely to fail to achieve their intended purpose or be abandoned when implementers ignore the literacy, skills, culture, and demands of the target users. This study recommends that, to enhance the sustainability of m-Agri services, the implementers need to design the services with the users involved, carefully analyse, and understand the target environment, and design for scale and a long-term purpose. While privacy and security of users need to be ensured, the reuse or improvement of existing initiatives should be explored, and projects need to be data-driven and maintained as open source. Thus, the study concludes that policymakers can support the long-term benefit of m-Agri services by ensuring favourable policies for both users and implementers.