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12. Harnessing the use of alternative media for South Africa’s agricultural extension service delivery in the face of the covid-19 global pandemic
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Yusuf, S.F.G. (author), Popoola, O.O. (author), and Yusuf, F.T.O. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-11-02
- Published:
- South Africa: South African Society for Agricultural Extension
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12721
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Agricultural Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 50, N. 2
- Notes:
- 19 pages, Agricultural extension service delivery remains pivotal in disseminating contemporary and innovative agricultural information, and the training and capacity building of farmers; all of which are critical to increased farmer productivity. There are several agricultural extension methods used by extension field officers to engage their target farmers; some of the contact methods used, like the individual and group methods amongst others, necessitates close interactions between both parties. As such, physical contact between persons cannot be avoided. In the current spate of COVID-19 threats to global health, there is a possible risk of human-to-human transmission of the disease. Some temporary measures like social distancing and the ban of gatherings are currently utilised by many countries to mitigate the rapid spread of the virus. The findings of several research reports showed that these restrictions negatively impacted agricultural extension service deliveries. This paper, therefore, reviewed alternative media delivery mechanisms as a probable palliative measure in sustaining the continuous delivery of agricultural information to farmers. The paper recommends intensifying the use of the electronic extension (E-extension) system. The mobile and computer/web-based platforms should be significantly harnessed (where applicable), while concurrently promoting the intense use of print media, radio, television, agricultural documentaries and instructional videos.
13. Information Needs of Women Subsistence Farmers in a Village in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Zimu-Biyela, Acquinatta (author), Dube, Luyanda (author), and Van der Walt, Thomas (author)
- Format:
- Journal Article
- Publication Date:
- unknown
- Published:
- South Africa: University of South Africa Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12171
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Information Studies
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 38 Issue 1, p1-17
- Notes:
- 18 pages., This article reports on findings of a study that was conducted to establish the information needs of women subsistence or smallholder farmers and the various information sources they consulted to resolve their information needs. The study was qualitative,and a grounded theory design was used. Focus group interviews and observation were used to collect data from 14 women crop farmers and three women livestock keepers.The farmer-to-farmer extension (FFE) model was adopted to understand theinformation-seeking behaviours of women farmers and how they can be improved, if need be. The findings revealed that while the women crop farmers needed help with seeds, soil treatment and the protection of crops from pests and stray animals,they needed more information on drought preparedness and management, and,on how to transform from subsistence to commercial farming. Women livestock keepers needed information on livestock feeds, the treatment of various ailments, and disaster preparedness and management. In addition, they needed the reintegration of the extension officer.It also transpired that local libraries were not responding to the information needs of farmers.The main source of information was oral communication. The use of radio, television, cell phones and extension officers was limited.This study echoes other studies which propose it is important that libraries, non-government organisations (NGOs) and extension officers respond to the information needs of smallholder farmers, especially women.
14. Information and communication technologies (ICT) towards agricultural development in rural areas: case of smallholder farmers in Umzimvubu local municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa Authors
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Makaula, Z. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-05-25
- Published:
- South Africa: Academy of Science of South Africa
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12307
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Agricultural Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 49 No. 1 (2021)
- Notes:
- 11 pages., This paper was initiated in order to find the usage and relevance of theInformation and Communication Technologies(ICT) by the smallholder farmers of the Umzimvubu Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. A survey questionnaire was then developed to collect the relevant data from randomly selected six villages of Umzimvubu Local Municipality targeting 138 respondents. The questionnaires structure employed both closed and open-ended questions that were administered using a face to face interview, conducted on the sample population in each village. There seems to be a correlation between ICT usage and the economies of scale in agricultural development, where smallholder farmers tend to use less of highly modernized ICT, while commercial large scale farmers use more of the modernized ICT. This disparity amongst farmers is exacerbated in many areas by the differing support systems employed by the public extension services.
15. Management information sources and communication strategies for commercially oriented smallholder beef cattle producers in Limpopo province, South Africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Mapiye, Obvious (author), Makombe, Godswill (author), Mapiye, Cletos (author), and Dzama, Kennedy (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-06-19
- Published:
- International: SAGE Journals
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12172
- Journal Title:
- Outlook on Agriculture
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol 49, Issue 1, 2020
- Notes:
- 7 pages., A survey was conducted to identify management information sources and communication channels used by commercially oriented smallholder beef cattle producers (n = 62) in Limpopo province, South Africa. A total of 62 commercially oriented smallholder farmers under the Limpopo Industrial Development Corporation-Nguni cattle project were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data on farmers’ demographic and farm characteristics, sources of information and communication channels used. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to evaluate factors that influenced farmers’ choices of information sources and communications channels used. Findings show that government extension (53% of the respondents) and other farmers (30%) were the major sources of management information for the farmers. Based on the logistic regression results, the decision to choose government extension as the main source of information was mainly influenced by respondents’ gender (p = 0.001) and access to training (p = 0.023). Communication was mainly through farm-to-farm visits (56%) and the use of mobile phones (30%). Based on the current findings, the infusion of modern information communication technologies such as mobile phone-based innovations with the existing government extension service could further strengthen the capacity of farmers to share information among themselves as well as providing feedback to extension agents. Furthermore, it is essential to take cognizance of farmers’ socio-economic factors when identifying and characterizing their management information sources and communication strategies.
16. Perceived naturalness, disgust, trust and food neophobia as predictors of cultured meat acceptance in ten countries
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Siegrist, Michael (author) and Hartmann, Christina (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-12
- Published:
- International: Science Direct
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12464
- Journal Title:
- Apetite
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 155
- Notes:
- 8 pages, Cultured meat is a novel food technology that promises to produce meat in a more environmentally friendly and animal-friendly way. We conducted an internet survey in ten countries (Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the US) with a total sample of 6128 participants. Results suggest that there are large cultural differences regarding the acceptance of cultured meat. French consumers were significantly less accepting of the idea than consumers in all other countries. Perceived naturalness of and disgust evoked by cultured meat were important factors in the acceptance of this novel food technology in all countries. Trust in the food industry, food neophobia and food disgust sensitivity indirectly and directly influenced the acceptance of cultured meat in almost all countries. In order to increase the acceptance of cultured meat, the similarity of cultured meat to traditional meat needs to be emphasized rather than the rather technical production process, which may evoke associations of unnaturalness and disgust.
17. Social activities, information seeking on subjects like health and education top the list of mobile activities
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Silver, Laura (author) and Huang, Christine (author)
- Format:
- Research report
- Publication Date:
- 2019
- Published:
- International: Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 134 Document Number: D11402
- Notes:
- 5 pages., Online via website., "In emerging economies, smartphone and social media users have broader social networks."
18. Social network addiction and advertising on social networks: a case study of rural students in South Africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Van Rhyne, Zhikona (author), Chinyamurindi, Willie (author), and Cilliers, Liezel (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019
- Published:
- South Africa
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11368
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Information Management
- Journal Title Details:
- 21(1), a1081
- Notes:
- 7 pages., Online via Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). 7 pages., The aim of this study was to determine the mediating role of psychological dependence between social networking sites addiction and attitude towards social networking advertising among a sample of rural students in South Africa. Findings indicated that "perceived ease of use positively supports psychological dependence." Authors interpreted the findings in terms of opportunities for establishing marketing relationships.
19. South African government palliative funds for agriculture amid Covid-19: challenges of implementation and suggestions for improvements
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Popoola, O. O (author) and Yusuf, S. F. G (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-12-09
- Published:
- South Africa: South African Society for Agricultural Extension
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12729
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Agricultural Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 49, N. 3
- Notes:
- 15 pages, The novel Corona virus pandemic has been extremely overwhelming at all levels causing massive economic setbacks for many countries including South Africa. The country witnessed an unprecedented scaling-down of its national economic activities, which called for an emergency response from the government. Several Covid-19 relief schemes were instituted by the government to ensure that farms of all sizes would survive. A support fund of R1.2 billion was allocated to the agriculture and food sector through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). The fund was primarily meant to assist financially distressed small-scale farmers to ensure continued production and food security for the country. This study collated the conditions for financial Covid-19 stimulus support required from smallholders and analysed several factors that prevented some members of this vulnerable group from benefitting from the relief funds. These factors include complexities associated with satisfactorily categorizing smallholder producers, productivity, marketing and policy challenges, glitches in formalising smallholder producer operations, the farm-business record keeping pitfall, and the exclusion of subsistent producers. The paper suggests some possible corrective measures that could allow for more inclusive support to these categories of farmers; some of which includes a simple but robust financial traceability system for the farmers, and a need to continue to push for the completion of national registration process of smallholder producers.
20. The Influence of budget allocation to implement the policy of extension and advisory services in South Africa
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Lukhalo, T. (author) and Zwane, E.M. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-10-20
- Published:
- South Africa: South African Society for Agricultural Extension
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12725
- Journal Title:
- South African Journal of Agricultural Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 50, N. 1
- Notes:
- 19 pages, Extension support is viewed as an enabler of food security. However, the literature reveals that extension within the public sector in South Africa is not yet geared to satisfy the needs of resource-poor smallholder producers to break away from poverty and food insecurity. This paper is aimed at reviewing budget allocation and public expenditure on agricultural extension support services to provide evidence-based recommendations to inform the implementation of the national policy on extension and advisory services. The study was conducted using budget allocation and expenditure data collected through a survey questionnaire directed at nine provincial departments of agriculture. The problem investigated was to establish whether the budget allocated to provincial extension services would be sufficient to implement the extension policy. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics including t-tests of differences in means. The study has delivered several findings: a). The budget execution rates were high for both the extension practitioners and the farmer programmes, with budget execution for farmer programmes being better than that for extension practitioners. b). The budget trends indicate an efficient system of budget execution for the benefit of the farmers. c). There were statistically significant differences between mean budget allocation for extension practitioners and farmer programmes. d). It was further found that the differences between the mean expenditure on extension practitioners and mean expenditure on farmer programmes were statistically significant. e). Consistent with budget allocation, mean expenditure on farmer programmes was higher than mean expenditure on extension practitioners leading to the conclusion that farmer programmes spent significantly higher than extension practitioners in the five financial years. f). On the other hand, it was found that the cost of implementing the newly developed national policy on extension and advisory services was found to be greater than the current budget allocation. The paper concluded that the budget allocation was insufficient, yet farmers received value for money.
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